A Twist of Fate
by Aryn Block
Summary: Payton Lexton is sent to live with her estranged father in the Olympic Peninsula after her parents die. When she meets some of the boys from the reservation, she starts to wonder if the characters in her favorite book are as fictional as she once thought.
1. Prolog

Prolog

Payton sat in the front seat of her grandmother's car, staring out of the window. She had tried to make conversation, but gave up when the topic kept coming around to her parents. Her grandmother knew how touchy of a topic that was, and did not want to push Payton over the edge. Her grandmother continued to stare at the road ahead, but her attention was averted when Payton opened up a book.

"What are you reading Pay?" asked her grandmother.

"The Twilight Series," said Payton showing the cover of Eclipse to her Grandmother.

"What are they about?" asked her Grandmother, happy that she had found a topic that was safe to talk about.

"Vampires," said Payton.

"Oh," said her Grandmother.

"And werewolves," continued Payton. "They are really good, and you would never guess where they are set at," she gushed.

"Where?"

"The Olympic Peninsula," she said. "Weird. Isn't it?"

"Ironic," said her Grandmother before lapsing into silence.


	2. This is Home

**Disclamer: The story line of _Twilight_ belongs to Stephinie Meyer. Also all _Twilight_ character belong to her.**

Chapter 1:  
This is Home

Payton stepped out of the car and looked around her. The trees around her looked like home, but she knew she was in a totally different place. Her attention was caught as a man in a black suit strolled across the parking lot. He smiled at Payton and her Grandmother, and when he reached them, he pulled Payton's Grandmother into a hug. He pulled back and said, "Mom! It has been too long."

"Yes it has, Samuel," replied Payton's Grandmother. Then she pointed to Payton and said, "As you can see, this is Payton Nichole, your daughter."

Payton raised a timid hand and said, "Hi."

"Hello Payton," said Samuel. He looked closely at Payton and then said, "Your hair is shorter, and lighter."

Payton put a conscious hand up to her bleach blonde pixie cut and tried not to think how bad her hair had to have looked. She tried to smile, but even to her it felt wrong.

"I like it," continued Samuel, as though he hadn't seen Payton fingering the short hair. He then turned to his mother and said, "I'll get her trunks from the car. Okay?"

"That will be fine," replied Payton's Grandmother. When Samuel disappeared behind the car, she turned to Payton and said in a low voice, "Remember. You can always call me. And try to look on the bright side of things doll."

"I will Gran," said Payton as she hugged the woman. "And thanks for bringing me out here."

"No problem honey," she said as she pulled Payton into another hug. "And smile," she reminded. Payton nodded and forced her face into a smile. Her Grandmother smiled back and then led her to the car where Samuel was already waiting. "Take care of her Sam," she threatened.

"I will ma," said Samuel as he slowly put the car in drive and slowly rolled away.

Payton looked out her window and gave one last wave to her Grandmother before opening her book to read.

* * *

Samuel drove his black Mustang into the circle drive of a large house and put the car in park. "Welcome home," he said with a weak smile.

"This is where you live?" gasped Payton as she took in the house.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well why would my mom leave you when you had money?"

"Your mother left before the money."

"Makes sense," muttered Payton under her breath as she opened the car door and got out. She stretched her legs as Samuel took the two trunks out of the car and walked one up the front stairs and into the house. Payton grabbed the other one and followed her 'father' into the house. He took the stairs to the second floor and opened up a door.

He pointed inside and said, "Your new room. I hope you like it. I will let you unpack," he finished, clearly uncomfortable about the thought of a teenage daughter.

Payton walked into the room and nodded slowly as she looked around her new room. The room itself was white with white carpeting. The bedspread had a black and white design on it and there were lots of pillows thrown onto the bed. There was a desk under one window and a vanity under the other. Payton slowly drug her trunks into her room and started to unpack.

* * *

Samuel lifted his eyes from the book in front of him and smiled as Payton walked into the room. "You settled in?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied as she slid into the chair across from him. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Go right ahead," he replied. "But only if I get to ask you some."

"Deal," said Payton as she thought of what to ask. She started with a simple one. "What do you do for a living?"

"I," said Samuel. "Am a doctor. Dr. S.J. Patterson."

Payton nodded and then said, "So that is why you have all this money?"

"No. The money I inherited, but I managed and invested it well."

"I see," said Payton even though she had no clue how that could possibly be. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Let's start with the simple ones. Name, age, grade; things like that."

"Well as you know, my name is Payton Nichole Lexton. I am sixteen and am a sophomore."

"Well that is good to know. I sure am happy I signed you up for the correct grade," joked the doctor.

Fear shot across Payton's face as a thought came into her mind. "I won't have to go to school will I?" she asked fearfully.

"No," responded the doctor. "But I have to go to work, so you will be here alone."

"That's okay," said Payton, visibly relaxing.

"And on Saturday, I was thinking that we could visit some of the people at the reservation. I was going to watch the game with some of the other men. You should go down and meet some of the people."

"Um…" replied Payton as she thought about the dreaded and unavoidable visit. "I guess I could go."

"Good," said the doctor. "Then that is settled." He looked at Payton and said awkwardly, "Well, I am going to bed…so goodnight."

"Night Doctor," said Payton as she brought her right knee to her chest and hugged it to herself. This was going to be one weird place, and she knew it.


	3. The First Meeting

Chapter 2:

The First Meeting

Payton woke up to an unnatural brightness on Saturday. She knew it would be a nice day, but hated the fact that she would be visiting the Reservation. She glared at the sunlight coming into her room and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She shuffled into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The hot water slowly woke her up, but she didn't want to go to the reservation.

'_Who will I talk to?_' she wondered. She sighed and stepped from the shower, turning the water off as she left. She quickly gelled her hair into spikes and dried her bangs. She still didn't like the short style, but there was nothing she could do about it. She quickly applied her make-up and slipped a gray long sleeved shirt on and a worn pair of jeans. She looked herself over, grabbed her book, and walked into the kitchen where the doctor would be waiting.

* * *

The car ride to the reservation took less time than Payton thought it should have, but she didn't dwell on that thought too long. Samuel was pulling the car to a stop in front of a small clapboard house. He cut the engine and stepped out. Payton slowly followed, rubbing the back of her right leg as she walked.

Samuel had already reached the front door and knocked by the time Payton got there. She arrived on the top step as a handsome young man opened the door. He smiled at the doctor and ushered him in. Payton slowly walked across the porch feeling the pull of her leg more than ever, and walked into the house.

A she entered, she heard a man say to the doctor, "Sam. Long time no see."

"Isn't that a good thing?" joked the doctor.

"All is good!" replied the man.

Payton stood in the shadows, hoping that no one would look at her. Sadly, the man saw her and questioned the doctor about it.

"Hold it. Hold it," ordered the doctor as he held up his hand. "This is my daughter, Payton. Payton Lexton." He extended a hand to her, but Payton ignored it taking a step forward. With his out stretched hand, he pointed to a tall burly man with copper skin and long hair pulled back into two braids. "This is Harry."

"Hi Payton," said Harry in a throaty voice. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Welcome to my home."

The doctor continued with his introductions and pointed to the other man in the room. This man had his black hair buzzed and had a ready smile. "This is Buzz." Buzz nodded to Payton and the doctor continued. He pointed to the young man who opened the door. The boy had neatly trimmed hair and an easy smile. "This is A.J.," said the doctor. "And this," he said pointing to the last person in the room who was standing in the shadows. Payton couldn't make out much of his features other than he had a serious face. "This is Aaron."

"Hi," said Payton shyly as she looked around the small room. "Could I go walk around?" she asked in a small voice.

"Go right ahead Payton," said Harry as he pointed to the door. "Just don't go into the forest. We don't want a lost girl on our hands so we boys?" asked Harry. A murmur ran through the room as they agreed with him. Payton smiled and slipped out of the house.

She slowly walked to the beach that was down the road from Harry's house and found a nice log of drift wood to sit on. She stretched out her right leg, trying to get the stiffness out of it, but failed. She sighed, giving up, and opened up her book. She had read less than a page when a sound behind her made her turn around on the log. Walking across the beach was the boy from the shadows.

"Hi," he said. He turned and motioned someone to come out from the trees.

A.J. slowly trudged from the trees and Payton said, "Hello A.J., Aaron. What do you need?" She cocked her head as she looked at the two boys.

"We really don't like to watch games with our dad's and we were wondering if you would like some company," said A.J., clearly the spokesperson for the group.

"I don't mind," said Payton, patting the log beside her. A.J. sat down quickly, but Aaron kept standing. "I don't bite," said Payton lightly.

"I will stand, thank you." said Aaron formally.

"Okay," said Payton, turning slightly red. She rubbed the back of her right leg again, but stopped when she saw A.J. watching her. "What?" she asked.

"You seem to be having some problems with your leg. What happened?" asked A.J.

"I had an accident. It was nothing," said Payton as she ran a nervous hand through her pixie cut.

"I like your hair," ventured A.J.

"Well I don't," replied Payton. "I got it from the same accident." She showed the back of her head to the boys and ran her finger over the large scar on the back of her head. They could see the pink scarring under the light blonde hair.

"Ouch," said A.J. as he reached up and ran his own finger over the scar. "You want to talk about it?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. "There really isn't much to say about it," she said as she bent her head to look at her hands.

"Can we still hear about it?" asked Aaron.

Payton's head snapped up as Aaron's voice sounded. He had moved from his standing position to a sitting one while Payton had been talking. "I guess," she said. She hadn't talked much about the accident, and really didn't want to start. She looked at A.J. and sighed. He had put his chin in his hands and was giving her large puppy eyes. "Fine," she said exasperatedly. "I'll tell you, but please don't tell everyone else."

"We won't," said Aaron.

"Thanks," said Payton, not fully believing him. "I guess I should start by telling you about my family." She looked at the boys and seeing that they weren't going to interrupt, she continued. "I was an only child. My mom and dad were Mark and Patty Lexton. We lived up in northern Minnesota, and were the perfect family."

"What happened?" asked A.J. when Payton paused for a breath.

"The accident happened," said Payton, bending her head once again. "We were in a car crash. My parents died instantly and I was left mangled. By the time I woke up, they had already buried my parents, and my family was fighting over who would have to take care of me." Payton let out a sour laugh and said, "No one wanted me. I would have been a burden. So when my biological father from Washington called to take me in, my family jumped at the opportunity. The papers were signed and I was sent to Ridgewall." Payton ended her story and looked out over the water.

"So did you know about the doctor?" asked Aaron.

"No. They never told me that my 'father' had adopted me; that I was a Patterson. I never knew. I knew my Grandmother though, his mother. I only knew her as the lady next door. I only knew her that way. When no one wanted me, she took me in and started to explain things."

"Ah," said A.J. "She was your light."

"Yeah," said Payton as she looked over the water again.

"So what grade will you be in?" asked Aaron, changing the subject.

"Sophomore. I turned sixteen last month. September sixth." She looked at the boys and asked, "You?"

"I am a sophomore like you," said A.J. "Aaron is a junior, and our other friend Jasper is also a sophomore."

"So what do you guys do for fun?"

"Work on old cars, hang out, cliff dive," said A.J. "You know the normal stuff."

"Normal, right," said Payton sarcastically.

"New topic then," said A.J. with a slightly hurt voice. "Where do you go to school?"

Payton looked at A.J. and said, "I honestly don't know. I never knew there were multiple schools in the area."

"Well you will either go to the Reservation's school, Q High. Or you will go to Ridgewall. It would be cool if you went to the Res. It gets boring without new faces." Said A.J. in a jokingly matter.

Payton smiled and said, "Then I hope so too. I would at least know some people."

"Yeah," said Aaron. "It is all fun and games at the Q."

"Aaron," warned A.J. "Not in front of the guests."

"Why not A.J.?" demanded Aaron.

"You know why. Now drop it."

"I think I should go back," said Payton, painfully aware that the boys were communicating about her in some secret language. "My leg hurts," she somewhat lied when A.J. started to object. "It's fine. I'll just leave," she said as she stood up and walked away from the boys, confused at what had happened between them.


	4. A New Start

**Note to readers: I might be slow at getting new chapters posted, but that is only because I am writing them in a notebook and then typing it onto my computer. Please stick with me, and thank you for sending in comments. It makes me write faster and get these chapters posted. -A**

Chapter 3:  
A New Start

"Good morning," said the doctor as Payton entered the kitchen on Monday morning.

"Morning," said Payton, seeing nothing good about it. It was raining, again, and a chill was creeping into her bones. She never asked where she would be going to school at, only that she was going to school.

"School starts at eight-thirty and ends at three-thirty. I'll drive you to school, but I might be late picking you up," explained the doctor as Payton poured herself a glass of orange juice and popped a piece of toast into the toaster. "I'll call someone to pick you up."

"It's okay," said Payton. "I don't mind having to wait for you."

"No, no. You won't have to wait. And once you get your own car, everything will be much easier for you."

"Oh," said Payton, realizing that she was a burden to the doctor. "Is there a bus?"

"No. We live in a dead zone. No busses come here."

"Oh," said Payton again, shoving a bite of toast into her mouth.

The doctor looked at the clock and said, "We should head out. I would hate for you to be late."

"Me too," mumbled Payton as she grabbed her book bag and coat. She hoped and prayed for the best.

* * *

The doctor turned the mustang into the small town of the reservation and looked at Payton. "I enrolled you here. I figured since I know people here, they will be more inclined to help me out."

"Thanks." Payton looked over to the doctor and then continued, "Who will pick me up?"

"I will ask Harry's boy, Aaron, to drive you home. He is a good boy."

"Okay," said Payton uncertainly.

The car stopped in front of a large three story building that sorely stood out from the rest of the buildings in the small town. "Good luck," said the doctor. "I'll see you when I get home. Do you have your cell?"

Payton held up her phone and said, "Thanks. I'll see you later." She smiled her best smile and shut the door, preparing herself for the worst. She slowly walked up the front steps and entered the school. There were lots of students in the halls, and this sent Payton into a panic. She never once thought there would be this many students in her school. Most of the kids were of Native decent, but there were also some Caucasians and also so blacks. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, when she spotted a familiar face.

"Payton," said Aaron with some enthusiasm. "The doctor called and asked me to bring you home." He looked down at Payton and smiled. "You look a little lost."

"I need to go to the office," said Payton in a small voice. "I need to get my schedule."

"Come on," he said, slowly guiding Payton through the crowds. He opened a small door that was somehow wedged between a trophy case and row of lockers. He ushered Payton in and smiled again.

A rush of calm swept through Payton as she looked around the office. It was small, but crazy. A small black woman behind the counter looked at Aaron with surprise, but when she spotted Payton, she smiled. "Aaron. How are you?" she gushed with a slight southern accent.

"I am good, Ms. Marian," replied Aaron with a dazzling smile. "And Harry is good too," he continued when Ms. Marian opened her mouth to ask another question.

"Good, good," she said in a smiling voice. "Any who. Who is this charming little thing?"

"This is Payton. Payton Lexton," said Aaron when he saw that Payton wouldn't be saying anything soon. "She is Dr. Patterson's daughter."

"Ooh, this is wonderful. Just wonderful," gushed Ms. Marian as she rummaged through the desk behind the counter. She found what she was looking for, and placed two pieces of paper on the counter. She pointed to a map and said, "This is the map of the school, but I bet you will be able to find people in the same classes." She pointed to the other sheet and said, "This is your class schedule."

Payton took the paper and read over her classes. She felt Aaron reading over her shoulder and jumped when he started to read her classes out loud. "First period, Biology. A.J. is in that class. Second period, Spanish Two. I am in that class. Third period, Algebra Two. Hell, everyone is in that class. Fourth period, English Comp. Well no one is in that class. Fifth period, lunch. This is good. Lots of fun. Sixth period, History. Jas is in there. Seventh period Speech," he looked up and asked, "Two language classes?"

"Yes," said Payton uncertainly. "Why? Is that weird?"

"Just a lot of language, that's all. So, seventh period, Speech. A.J. and Conner are in there. And eighth period, P.E. That sucks."

"Not really. So how do you get to Biology?"

"Follow me," said Aaron with a warm smile. Payton smiled a real smile in return and followed Aaron out of the office and into the bustling halls. She stuck close to him, for she was in fear of having him wander away. They took the main stairs up to the second level and turned left in the hall. He opened a locker and grabbed a book before continuing down the halls. "Here is the Bio room. All of your classes are on this level, except P.E. and lunch, so you can't get too lost. I'll meet you right here after class and take you to Spanish. Okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Payton with a small smile. "That would be great."

"See you then," said Aaron as he left with a smile on his face.

"Yeah," whispered Payton as she walked into the Biology room.

Aaron was waiting by the door, just like he said he would be, when Payton and A.J. walked out of the room. Aaron looked at A.J. and asked, "Good?"

"Great. Totally compatible. Great pair."

"What?" asked Payton, getting the feeling that they were talking about her.

"Nothing," said Aaron quickly; too quickly for Payton's liking.

"Whatever," said Payton. "Where is the Spanish room?"

"Right this way ma'am," said Aaron mockingly."

"Just lead me to the class," said Payton, glaring at Aaron. Aaron just nodded and led Payton to the Spanish room, smiling the entire way.


	5. Classes and Friends

**Note: Chapter 5 should come soon, and the more reviews I get, the faster I write. And as another note, I am just using Ms. Meyer's plot ideas, not her characters. Sorry. -A**

Chapter 4:

Classes and Friends

As the bell rang, ending second period, Payton slowly walked out of the door, only to find A.J. lounging on the wall. She gave him a quick glance as he fell into step with her and she asked, "So are you guys tag-teaming me?"

"No," replied A.J. "We kind of have orders from our dad's to 'keep you safe.'"

"Oh. Doctor's orders?"

"Exactly," smiled A.J. "And I can't wait till you meet the rest of the group."

"The rest?"

"Yeah," said A.J. enthusiastically. "It will be great!" He held a door open, and Payton walked into Algebra Two. She looked around and saw that there were only three other girls in this class. She groaned and took an empty seat beside Aaron.

Aaron looked at her and smiled before he started the introductions. "Boys," he said, with a voice of authority. "Meet Payton."

"Hi Payton," said the group in return Payton felt like she was in a AA meeting and raised her hand in a nervous greeting.

"She is from Minnesota," continued Aaron. "She is the doctor's daughter." A series of grins flashed across the boys faces as Aaron said that. Aaron turned to the first boy who was of a muscular build, had russet colored skin, and had laughing eyes; and said, "This is Connor."

"So," said Connor. "Got a boyfriend?"

"Don't date," said Payton in return.

"Ouch," said A.J. under his breath, causing Connor to hit him hard on the arm. That issued another, but more painful 'ouch' from A.J.

"Quit it you two," ordered Aaron. He turned to the next boy. This boy had coppery skin, dark demeaning eyes, and a straight face. He glanced at Payton and then turned back to his book. "This is Jasper. Jasper Hale." Aaron glared at the boy and then turned to the last in the group. This boy was wiry and had a smug look on his face. His black hair hung to his shoulders and his coppery skin was darker than the others. "This is Myles. He lives out by you."

"Really?" asked Payton, genuinely interested.

"Yeah," he replied in a gravelly voice. "My father doesn't like town, so we moved out there a few years back."

"Cool," said Payton as the teacher called for attention. They boys silently turned around and looked at the teacher, looking innocent and sweet. Payton rolled her eyes and tried to pay attention to the lector, but her attention and eyes kept wandering back Jasper and his hard eyes.

Algebra seemed to drag on, but finally the bell rang. "What class?" asked Myles.

"English Comp," said Payton as she gathered up her books.

"That is by my next class," said Myles. "I'll take you there."

"Thanks," replied Payton, following Myles out of the classroom and into the halls. Myles pointed to the last door of the hall. "Thanks," said Payton again.

"No problem. See you at lunch."

"Yeah. See you." Myles walked away, and Payton entered the classroom.

Unlike most of her other classes, she wasn't the only white kid in the room. There were two other whites and the rest were Native, but all of them were girls. She slowly entered the room and sat down in the back row. The girl in front of her turned around and smiled. She had long black hair that was pulled back with a leather thong.

"Hi," said the girl. "I am Layla. What is your name?"

Without Aaron and A.J., Payton was forced to talk. "I'm Payton."

"The doctor's daughter?" asked another girl beside Layla. This girl had a bob of hair, and a ready smile. "I am Susan by the way."

"Yeah. I am the doctor's daughter."

"When did you get here?" asked a third girl. This girl also had black hair, but her skin was paler; almost yellower. Her eyes were guarded and she said, "My name is Ava."

"Hi. I got here on Thursday."

"Cool," said Layla. "So meet any of the guys yet?"

"Aaron, A.J., Connor, and Jasper."

"Lucky," said Ava. "I didn't start talking to those boys till I started going out with Myles."

"Oh. I met him too."

"We broke up."

"Why?"

"Weird things that happened to my brother Luke."

"And don't forget Ian," said Susan.

"Who could?" asked Susan.

"What happened?" asked Payton.

"I'll tell you later," said Ava. "Links is coming." As she said that, the teacher in the front of the room started to walk around the girl's desks.

A note was quickly passed to Payton from Ava that read:

_What are you doing after school?_

Payton wrote back:

**Nothing…other than Aaron is taking me home. Why?**

Susan took the paper and wrote:

_**We'll tell you the story, but you should come to my house…for privacy reasons.**_

Payton nodded and then wrote:

**I'll call the Dr. lunch.**

The three girls smiled and quickly got to work on the day's assignment that was written on the board. Payton smiled to herself, happy that she had made friends so quickly. And to top it all off, she was in a circle with the 'boys' that most of the other girls weren't in, and that made her smile.


	6. The Second Half

Chapter 5:

The Second Half

The bell rang dismissing the kids to lunch, and Ava slowly placed her arm through Payton's. "So you gunna call?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Payton. She grabbed her phone from her bag and dialed. The doctor answered, and Payton quickly explained the coming events. The doctor quickly agreed to Payton's visit and said that he would pick her up at seven. "Thanks," said Payton as she hung up the phone.

"Woo hoo!" exclaimed Ava as she pulled Payton into the lunchroom. They slowly made their way through the line and sat down at an empty table. Susan and Layla sat down next, and soon a black girl named Trish was sitting with them also. Payton slowly picked at her meat, thinking of how her life had changed over the past few months. She was deep in thought when A.J. slipped into the seat next to her and casually flung his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said.

"Straw," responded Payton, receiving a grin from A.J.

"So, you aren't having Aaron take you home?" he asked.

"Gee," said Payton with an eye roll. "News travels fast."

"No," said someone behind Payton. His voice was smooth and silky, but had an edge to it. It sent shivers down her back. "We are merely observant. And your father called."

Payton turned around and saw Jasper standing behind her. "Hi," she said.

"Jas," said Aaron, now joining the table. "Drop it," he said picking up some unsaid hostility. Jasper nodded and quickly took a seat at the end of the table.

The conversation soon flew around the table, but Payton didn't even try to keep up. Instead she let her mind wander along with her eyes. She was staring into space when a movement, out of the corner of her eye, caught her attention. She moved her head and saw a table of four very large boys. They seemed to be fighting, and one was so mad, he was shaking.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and A.J.'s voice said in her ear, "The Q gang."

"You guys have a gang?"

"Not really," said Aaron motioning everyone to lean in. "They can do no wrong in the eyes of the elders, but they are weird. My father said that Roger might get a position on the council."

"How?" asked Payton.

"I'll tell you about it at my house," said Ava. "They boys don't like talking about it."

"Right," said Payton, glancing at the Q gang. They all had hard eyes, and were muscularly built. They had scruffy hair that was trimmed short and their copper colored skin had a hint of pink in it, as if they were running temperatures. The only difference in them was their faces. One had hard cheek bones; one had rounded cheeks, almost baby like; another had a broad forehead; and the last had a strong jaw. Payton sighed and tried to push their faces out of her mind, but she kept returning to the thought that they all had the same eyes, hard and guarded, like Jasper.

When the bell rang, Payton slowly stood up and started to walk out of the lunch room. A.J. soon appeared by her side, and he smiled a wide grin. "So how is it?"

"How is what?" asked Payton.

"The school."

"Fine."

"Just Fine?"

"I don't like new places. It is hard for me."

"Ah."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"What is up with that Jasper kid?"

"Jas…is quiet…but he is changing. We think he might be joining the gang."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it. My group of pals will all most likely join, but who knows."

"Do you want to join?"

"Not really, but Aaron can't wait. Something Harry sticks in his water I think," A.J. joked.

"Weird."

"Yeah." A.J. stopped in front of a door and said, "Good luck. And don't worry about Jas. He'll come around."

"Thanks," said Payton as she walked into the History room.

The period passed quickly for Payton. She was at least four chapters ahead of the class, and with History as her best subject, she was able to let her mind wander. She took quite a few quick glances at Jasper and once she saw he was staring deeply at her. His eyes flashed when she caught his glace, making her turn crimson. Finally the bell rang, and Jasper bolted from his seat, leaving Payton in the room with a worried look on her face.

Both A.J. and Aaron were outside of the door, but when Payton exited the room, they were locked in conversation with Jasper.

"Lay off," said Jasper with a hiss in his voice.

"No," said A.J.

"You need to look," said Aaron.

"I don't want this, and both of you know it," said Jasper.

"No one wants it buddy," said Aaron sourly.

"We just get it," finished A.J.

"Look at least…for us-her," pleaded Aaron.

"No," said Jasper as he stormed away.

"That went well," said A.J. to Aaron. "Let's tag-team more people."

"He needs to know what is going on. He is too worried trying not to be, that he is blind."

"Aren't we all?" asked A.J. turning around. He spotted Payton and said, "Hay Pay."

"Hi," said Payton. "Where is the Speech room?"

"This way," said A.J., pulling Payton along the hall and into a small room.

Payton made it through Speech and then through P.E. Her last class was her favorite. Running was fun, though her leg slowed her down quite a bit. She tried not to think about the pulling in her leg, but decided that she would have to talk to the doctor about it if she was going to ignore it.

She walked out of the gym at the end of the day, and saw Ava, Kayla, and Susan waiting for her. "Ready for some stories?" asked Ava.

"Let's go," said Payton following the girls out of the school and to Ava's house.

Ava's house looked much like Harry's but the lawn was filled with little kids toys and random shoes. The house's windows had flower boxes below them that were filled with yellows, oranges, and reds. "Sorry about the mess," said Ava. "My little siblings are pigs."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Luke is a junior, Matt is ten, Satie is six, and Benny is four."

"I envy you," said Payton.

"No you don't. No privacy and a messy house." Ava smiled and opened the door. "Welcome to my house."

Payton entered the house and smiled. Inside, the house was warm and cozy. The front room was tiny and the two couches and two chairs took up most of the room. Two kids were parked in front of the T.V., and didn't even turn around when the four girls entered the house. "Come on," said Ava. "We'll go to my room."

"'Kay," said the girls as they walked up the stairs and into a room that was painted an aqua blue. An aquarium sat on a small table with a lap top, and a bed took up the rest of the room.

"Sit, sit," said Ava. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water," said Layla.

"Me too," said Susan.

"Make that three," said Payton.

"I'll be back," said Ava. Payton nodded and reached for her bag. She took out her book and placed it on the bed. She then grabbed the notebook she was digging for and looked up at the girls.

They were giving Payton a weird look and Payton said, "What?"

Susan held up the book and said, "You are reading these?"

"Yes," said Payton. "Why?"

"They are forbidden. The council doesn't like them to be read…or for the stories we are going to tell you to be voiced."

"Oh. I'll leave it at home."

"That would probably be best."

"Yeah. Especially with Luke in the house. Not a good thing to be reading," said Layla.

"Thanks for the warning. I won't bring them to school anymore."

"Okay," said Ava, entering the room let's get some stories told." She spotted the book and almost dropped the tray of waters.

"Don't worry Ava," said Layla. "We already told her."

"Yeah," said Payton. "I need to know the 'rules' so let's get some stories told."

"Okay," said Ava, sitting down. "This begins back when man first came to this area…


	7. Tell Me a Story

Chapter 6:

Tell Me a Story

"This begins back when man first came to this area. There were many wars and battles for the land that we sit on. The only thing that let us keep the land was the wolf. It is against tribal law to hurt these animals, and even now they are protected. The first time men realized what was happening to them- to the wolf, it was too late to leave. We were in a war against northern tribes, and a wolf appeared to the Chief in a dream. The wolf said, 'Use me. I will help.'

The chief could not comprehend this, and when he woke the next morning, he saw that his entire camp had moved…or so he thought. He heard the sounds before he saw them. It was a battle, and there standing where he would have been was a wolf.

'I told you to use me,' said the wolf.

The chief didn't know what to do other than to join the battle. When it was finished, and we had won, the Chief went looking for the wolf, but he was gone. He asked his men, but none of them had even seen the wolf during the battle, all they saw was the chief.

This confused and puzzled the chief. He thought long and hard about it, but he couldn't comprehend it. Nothing made since.

Years later, after the chief had died, and his son had ascended to the position, another battle occurred. The son took his men out to battle, but they didn't fight that day. They went to bed, and like his father, the son dreamed of a wolf.

'Use me,' said the wolf. 'I will help.'

The son nodded, but didn't know how to use the wolf.

The next morning the son prepared his men for battle, and when it started, he saw the wolf, in the place where he should have been. The son tired to make since of this, but soon gave up and just fought the enemy." Ava looked up at the girls and then her head shot to the door.

"Ava," said a deep voice.

"Luke," said Ava. "Come in."

A tall boy walked into the room and looked about. Payton recognized him as one of the Q gang members he was the boy with the broad forehead. "You know not to tell these stories."

"She deserves to know."

"Why?"

"Aaron told me something."

"What?"

"J y Peah son…" she hinted.

"Oh," said Luke. "In that case, scoot over."

Ava scooted over and Luke sat down on the bed and continued the story.

"The son went to many battles, and every night before the battle, the wolf would come. Soon the son expected the wolf to help. He was able to piece together what was happening. The wolf was helping him in battle.

But one day the worst thing that can ever happen to a man, happened. His wife had been found dead. All suspected that the rival tribe to the north had killed her, so the son did something that had never been heard of before. He went after the tribe. Not with his men, but alone. Along the way, he felt something change in him. He was stronger; better; less than a man.

When he reached the encampment of the other tribe, the women fled, and the men came at him with spears and other weapons. Instead of drawing his own weapon, the son threw himself at the men, killing all who were in his path.

Soon he felt another presence with him. He was hearing voices, and that scared him. But he knew that voice. It was his son's.

Soon his son came into view, but it was not the son he was use to. His son was now a wolf. A wolf that was much like the one from his dreams.

These wolves are known as the protectors. We protect our tribe from the unknown dangers of the world." Luke looked up at Payton and then asked, "Any questions so far?"

"Nope."

"Good. The next part is more interesting. This is about the cold ones."

"Vampires?"

"Yes."

"Go ahead."

"Finally our tribe was safe from the other tribes. Our wolves scared them. People were afraid. They didn't want to bother us, so it was weird when the decedents of the last wolf started to take their canine form. No one knew what was going on, and this scared a lot of them.

Then one day the danger appeared. It was beautiful, but evil. It was a vampire, and it was deadly. It killed many, and our wolves were finally able to kill it, to destroy it. We found out that only fire would destroy them.

Now only when a large 'coven' comes to the area do we change into our form."

"Who changes?" asked Payton.

"The decedents of the last son," replied Luke. "Now I have to go. Guard duty."

"Bye Luke," said Layla with a slight giggle of hysteria.

"Now do you see why you can't have the books?" asked Susan.

"Not really."

"The books tell of another story, a secret story that has been kept hidden for years. Only a few of us know about it."

"Why?"

"We all happen to be descendents of the last son."

"Oh…so why did you tell me?"

"You'll see," said Ava with a smile. "But right now your dad will be here to pick you up."

"It is seven already?" asked Payton looking at her watch. It read _6:58._ "Well thanks for having me. I learned a lot."

"No problem," said Ava. "Oh, and there is bomb fire that you should come to."

"When?"

"Saturday at about eight. We'll meet at the lake, and it will be fun," said Layla.

"Sure," said Payton. "I can't wait." With that she walked down the stairs and saw the black of the mustang through the window.


	8. Oops

Chapter 7:

Oops

Payton got up the next morning thinking about the story that the girls had told her. She had consulted her books and realized that either they were leading her on, or there was something going on. She wanted to be liked, but knew that thinking the 'lie' was true would label her as a loser. She slowly got dressed, and walked down the stairs. She was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Do you think she will come down?" asked A.J.

"She has to eat," responded Aaron.

"Yeah, but Luke told her the story." Payton could almost imagine A.J. putting air quotes around the word story, and that made her laugh out loud. "Did you hear that?" asked A.J.

"Yes. It was a laugh."

"Then she is up."

"Go find her then."

"No. You."

"I have a girlfriend."

"So…"

"So you go get her." Payton heard some shoving around, and decided to just go into the kitchen by herself.

Aaron had A.J. in a headlock, and both of them froze when Payton entered the kitchen. "Hello boys."

"Hi," they said in unison.

"So what do I owe this pleasure to?"

"We are going to take you to school?" said A.J.

"Really?" asked Payton. "And what if I don't want to go? What if I am scared of the stories?"

"Then we would stay here with you," said Aaron plainly. "You aren't safe anymore."

"What do you mean?" asked Payton.

"There had been some changes during the night, and well….you aren't safe," said A.J.

"Whatever," said Payton. "Did you two eat already?"

"Yes," said Aaron.

"Okay," said Payton as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. She sat down in front of the boys and stared them down.

Finally A.J. looked away and said, "What?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you staring at me?" he demanded.

"Because."

"Let's just go," said Aaron. "We don't want to blow A.J.'s head off with too much thinking.

Payton laughed and grabbed her bag and coat. She walked to the front door and saw Aaron's old Ford truck. "Nice ride," she commented.

"Thanks," said Aaron opening the door for her. You get the prime seat."

"So the middle is now the prime seat?" asked A.J. "What happened to the good 'ol shotgun?"

"Thanks," said Payton ignoring A.J. and slipping into the truck's front seat, placing her bag between her feet.

"Let's go," said Aaron, turning the key and roaring out of Payton's lane.

The school day went well, but Payton couldn't help but notice that Jasper wasn't there. She asked the boys about it, but all she got as an answer was that he was out of town. She would've asked more, but Aaron always changed the subject before any further questions would be asked. This practice was starting to annoy Payton, but by the end of the day she had worse things on her mind.

Her P.E. class was playing dodge ball, and like always, she was playing as a self sacrifice. She fell wrong as a ball came flying towards her, causing her leg to buckle under her. She let out a scream as she fell, and curled into a ball, hugging her leg in pain. The entire class crowded around her, and the mob was finally broke up enough to get one of the boys to call the doctor.

Payton stayed on the floor until the doctor came bustling into the gym ten minutes later. "What happened?" he demanded.

"I fell," said Payton.

"Your leg?" he asked.

"I hurt it in the crash."

"And you never thought to tell me?"

"I thought it was better."

"Well obviously it isn't. Pull up your pant leg and show it to me."

Payton pulled her pant leg up and showed the doctor the back of her leg. The scar that was usually pink was now bright red. A small trickle of blood was running down her leg. "This is bad Pay. You should have told me."

"I know," said Payton ashamed. "I just don't like to talk about it."

"I know, but you should have stayed out of P.E. I think I will stick your leg in a brace. That should give it enough support."

"I'm sorry," said Payton looking down.

"It is my fault. I knew that your leg had been injured, but I thought you would come to me if something was wrong. I guess I thought wrong."

Payton smiled up at the doctor and said, "So are we going home?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Payton tried to stand up, but couldn't. "You stay here. I'll go get a couple of boys to help."

Payton groaned, but let the doctor walk away, leaving her with the crowd. "What?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

"Nothing," said a kid with braces. "We were just wondering if your hair cut was from the crash too."

A snicker ran through the gym, as Payton looked away from the crowd. Tears were starting to form, and she wished that the boys would hurry up. As the first tear ran down her face, Aaron and A.J. came into the gym with the doctor. They took one look at Payton, and lifted her up between them carrying her to the doctor's mustang.

Once home, the boys carried Payton into the living room and deposited her onto the couch. "Stay here with me?" asked Payton.

"Yes," said A.J. "We'll stay."

"Thanks," whispered Payton as A.J. sat down beside her. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and said, "So am I still allowed to go to the beach on Saturday?"

"Of course. The doctor will let you go…but only if you are easy on your leg," said A.J.

"I will be," said Payton with an impish smile on her face. "So who will be there?"

"Susan, Ava, Layla, Myles, the gang, us. You know…the usual."

"Ah," said Payton. "Will Jasper be there?"

"If he is up to it, yes."

"Well I hope he gets better."

"I don't think he is sick. Just out of town," said Aaron, speaking for the first time since they entered the house.

"Oh," said Payton, closing her eyes, and slowly falling asleep on A.J.'s shoulder.


	9. Surprise Guest

Chapter 8:

Surprise Guest

Payton woke Saturday morning in a haze. The pale morning light filtered through the window, but the forecast said that there would be no rain. It would be a beautiful day. She stretched and thought over the last week. Monday was a blur, Tuesday was painful, and the last three days molded themselves together. The one thing that stuck out in Payton's mind was that Jasper was absent. She shrugged off the worry that she felt for him and rolled herself out of bed. She misjudged the distance to the edge of the bed and landed with a thud on the ground.

"Uff," breathed Payton as her breath came back to her.

"Pay?" asked a worried voice from the other side of the door.

"I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yes," said Payton, picking herself off of the floor and walking to the door. She opened it and said to the doctor, "I just rolled out of bed."

"As long as your leg is fine."

"It is. Don't worry."

"And remember to wear your brace. I don't want you to reinjure it."

"I will. And thanks for taking care of me."

"That is what I am here for," said the doctor with a smile. "So are you going out to the fire tonight?"

"Yes. Aaron and A.J. were going to pick me up."

"That would explain the message." He handed Payton a note that read:

**Will be picked up at 4. Pre Party. A&A**

"They sure are nice at telling me things," joked Payton.

"Yeah. Just take an easy on that leg. You don't want to have surgery on that again."

"I know."

"And one more question."

"Yes?"

"Were you suppose to wear the brace?"

"Maybe…" Payton looked up at him and then said, "Yes."

"Take it easy, or I will sig the boys on you."

"Not the boys!" exclaimed Payton with mock horror. "What will I do?"

The doctor laughed and said, "And we will postpone the car shopping trip to a later date. I don't want you driving with your leg like that."

"Fine. I'll ask the boys to take me to school."

"I don't think they have a problem taking you. I really think they like you."

"Yeah," said Payton as she looked over her shoulder and out the window,

"I'll let you go. I have to go into work and Mary is coming to clean the house, so you can so whatever you like."

"Okay. See ya." Payton smiled at the doctor and then turned around and closed her bedroom door.

The day passed quickly for Payton. She had cleaned her room up, checked her mail- which she found empty like the last four times she had checked- and when the doorbell rang at four, she quickly ran down the stairs and opened the front door too excited to wait another minuet. Standing on the porch was not who she expected.

"Hello Myles," said Payton with a smile. "Come in."

"Thanks," said Myles stepping into the house. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Is there anything that I need to bring?"

"A blanket, but other than that, nothing."

"No food?"

"Already provided."

"Then I am ready." She grabbed her coat and a blanket from the closet and followed Myles to the old car sitting in the driveway.

"Hop in. The ride should only take fifteen minutes or so."

"Can't wait," said Payton as she closed the door and watched the trees pass her window as the car drove to the beach. The trees rhythmically passing the car eased Payton's worried mind. She didn't know what to expect, and that scared her.

As Myles parked the car, a trio of large boys ambushed the car, making Payton cringe into her seat. Myles let out a laugh and said, "Don't worry. It's just the boys."

"Right," said Payton, not truly convinced. She cracked her door open, and grabbed her blanket.

The door opened and Aaron said, "Let me take that."

Payton smiled and handed the blanket to him. "Thanks."

"No problem. How was the ride?"

"Fine."

"Good." He walked towards the beach and Payton followed him. When they got to the beach, Aaron said to the group of kids, "Well it looks like everyone is here. Ready for a hike?" The chorus of shouts told them all that they were ready. "Then let's go!" said Aaron.

The group started to walk off, but Payton stayed behind. "You coming?" asked A.J. when he noticed that Payton was not with the group.

"No. I think I will stay behind. And I promised the doctor that I would take an easy on my leg."

"Do you want company?"

"Go on. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes! Now go!" ordered Payton pointing her finger towards the group to make her point.

"Fine," said A.J. as he trudged to the group. When he caught up he said something that made Aaron turn around, and Payton waved and smiled to him. He waved back, and led the group out of Payton's sight.

She sighed and leaned back on the log she was sitting on. She watched as the waves broke on the beach and though about taking a short stroll along the beach to pass the time. She looked around her and saw the remnants of past fires and smiled. It was like she stepped into Ms. Meyer's book, and she was loving every minute of it.

She heard a sound from behind her and slowly turned around. Standing at the edge of the trees was the last person she would have expected.


	10. Him

Chapter 9:

Him

She heard a sound from behind her and slowly turned around. Standing at the edge of the trees was the last person she would have expected. Standing in the shadows was Jasper, but he was different; larger; but all at the same time, he had a softer look to him. He smiled shyly at Payton and slowly walked out of the trees and onto the beach. Payton's breath caught as she took him in. He didn't have a shirt on, and his muscular body rippled as he walked.

"Payton," he said in his gravelly voice.

"Jasper," responded Payton in a weak voice.

Jasper smiled again and pointed to the space on the log beside her and asked, "Is that seat taken ma'am?"

"No," blushed Payton. "Sit down."

"Thanks," said Jasper as he sat down. "So what are you doing here all by yourself?" Payton pointed to the brace and Jasper said, "Oh."

"Yeah. I reinjured it on Tuesday."

"What happened the first time?"

Payton usually didn't talk about things like this, but for some reason she confided in Jasper. "Well my parents as you know died in a crash, and I lived. But I did get hurt. I cut my head open in the back, resulting in this lovely pink scar at the back of my head and my wonderful hair cut. My leg was also mangled. The doctors thought that I would never be able to use it fully ever again. I proved them wrong. I can walk, but I am suppose to wear this brace. I hadn't put it on since I arrived here, and on Tuesday I reopened the scarring a little as I fell."

"Ouch," said Jasper as he shifted his weight ever so closer to Payton. The movement was caught by Payton and that made her shiver with delight. She felt different around Jasper, but it was a good type of different. It was like she finally had someone, and that in its self made her happy.

"So do you want to go for a short walk?" asked Jasper. He looked over at Payton and smiled again.

"Sure," said Payton. Jasper got up and extended his hand out to Payton. "But there is one thing."

"What is that?"

"I promised the doctor that I would take an easy. I really don't want to break that promise."

"Don't worry. I want to show you something, and we will take it nice and slow."

"Okay," said Payton, placing her hand in his and let him gently pull her to a standing position. He started to walk slowly, and Payton walked beside him at a comfortable pace.

They walked towards the trees, but before entering them, Jasper lightly placed his arm around Payton's waist, ensuring that she would safely maneuver through the trees and underbrush. They maneuvered over an unseen path, taking their time. As they were walking, Jasper said, "I am sorry about the way I acted on Monday. I was going through a rough period."

"That's okay," said Payton, focusing on her breathing. Jasper's arm was warm, even through her coat, and it felt right. She wanted to lean into him, but was afraid of what might happen if she did.

"So how was the rest of the week?" asked Jasper in a whisper.

"It was okay," said Payton. "I couldn't help but notice that someone was gone," she hinted.

"Sorry," said Jasper again. He looked down at Payton and let another smile pass his lips as he gazed down at her. He wanted to badly to make her see what a fool he had been, and he hoped beyond hope that she would forgive his rudeness from Monday.

"It is just a little bit farther," said Jasper as Payton slowly got tired. "You going to make it?" he asked with a worried tone in his voice.

"Yeah, just tired I guess."

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked, hoping that she would say yes.

"I am way too heavy for you to carry me."

"No you aren't," he said, swooping her up into his arms.

She let out a whoosh of air as he lifted her, hardly breaking stride. "Are you sure I am not too heavy?"

"You, my dear, are a light as a feather." '_And beautiful,'_ he thought as she sighed and let him carry her.

He carried her the last leg of the hike, and soon he was in the place that he loved most. He set Payton down on the ground and said, "This is where my parents always went when they were growing up."

"Beautiful," sighed Payton as she looked around. The meadow was long and narrow, but was full of life. It was lined with trees that opened up to the sky above. A pale stone stood in the middle of the grass, and was about table height. There were late fall flowers, but mostly it was just grass. "It is so pretty." She turned to Jasper who was still in the shadows and said, "Thank you for sharing."

"I'm glad you like it," he said stepping into the meadow. He carefully took Payton's hand and led her over to the stone. At a closer look, Payton could see that something was written in it. She looked closely and read:

_The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want._

"Psalm twenty-three," she breathed.

"My parent's wedding verse."

"What happened?" she asked, turning to him.

He looked away and thought for a moment. "My father left for work one day, and when he got back home, my mother was gone. We didn't know what happened to her." He looked down at Payton and then said in barely a whisper, "Then we found her body. That was when Roger first changed. Then everything fell into place."

"Where did you go this week?" asked Payton, changing the topic. "Aaron said that you were 'out of town.'"

"I guess you could say that." Payton raised her eyebrow in a question and Jasper continued, "Well you know the legends, so I don't have to tell you about that. And you can probably guess that I am now part of what the boys call the gang."

"Is it a gang?" asked Payton, slipping into a sitting position. She leaned her back against the rock, and looked up at Jasper.

"Well," said Jasper thinking again. "It is more of a family. One big, happy family."

"Are you happy?"

"I am not sure yet," said Jasper, taking a seat beside Payton. "I just got home, and this is all very new to me. I am not even sure how much I can tell you."

"Do you need to ask someone?" asked Payton.

"Do you mind?"

"Not really. Just don't leave me here. I don't think I will be able to get back to the beach, and Harry said that I shouldn't go into the forest."

"Well in that case," said Jasper quickly standing up. "I will be back in a minute."

"Okay," said Payton, smiling up at him. "I'll be right here. Waiting."

"Be right back," said Jasper as he quickly rushed into the trees.

Payton smiled and hugged herself around her middle. The butterflies wouldn't stop, and that made her feel wonderful. She started to count, and before she reached five hundred, Jasper was walking back through the trees.

"Ask away," he said, sitting beside her once again. "I know what I can tell you."

"Okay," thought Payton. "What are you?"

"I am the legend. I am a decedent of the last son. I am a protector."

"Okay. How do you change?"

"We change overtime. As you can see, I grew."

"I think everyone can tell," laughed Payton. "You are huge."

Jasper laughed with Payton and then said, "Once we grow, we change inside."

"Like how?"

"We run a higher internal temperature, our minds become in sync with our brothers, and we change our mindset. We think of others ahead of ourselves." He looked over at Payton and said, "Do you understand?"

"So let me get this. You are a wolf from the old legends, you changed this week, and you now have brothers who are also known as the Q gang. Did I get everything?"

'_No,'_ thought Jasper. _'You forgot the part that I really like you.'_

"I think you got everything."

"So what are you doing later this evening?" asked Payton with a devilish grin on her face.

"Is this an invitation for a date?" asked Jasper with mock horror.

"It could be," said Payton. "Your choice."

"I'll see if I can come. I'll have to ask Roger if I can leave. There have been some problems in the area."

The color drained from Payton's face as she thought of the possibilities of what the 'problems' could be. "What kind of problems?" she asked in a quavering voice.

"The type of problems that I will keep away from you," said Jasper as he slowly lifted his hand to her face. He brushed his finger along her jaw and watched as her eyes slowly closed. She leaned her face into his hand, and sighed. He slowly brought his finger back along her jaw, and then leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

When he pulled away, Payton let out a small 'ooh' and covered her mouth. "Sorry," murmured Jasper as he looked down.

"Don't be," said Payton taking one of his hot coppery colored hands. She lifted the hand up to her face and placed her cheek in it. Jasper slowly cupped her face again. This time it was Payton who leaned in for the kiss, but like the first time, there was a rush of heat that passed through them.

"I should get you back," whispered Jasper as he stood up.

"Fine," said Payton slightly dejected. "Let's go."

She started to walk out of the meadow when Jasper swooped her into his arms. She let out a small giggle and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So what do we tell the others?" she asked.

"They already know."

"Really?" asked Payton.

"Yes. And they were taking bets on how long it would take us to make a couple."

"That is not fair."

"Why?"

"You shouldn't bet on people. It is rude."

Jasper laughed and kissed Payton once more on the lips before walking out of the meadow and onto the pathless trail that led back to the beach.

By the time they got back to the beach, the sun was setting, and the bonfire was roaring. "You go and sit over there. I'll be there in a second," said Jasper as he pointed to the fire. Payton nodded and walked into the circle of light.

"Where is Jasper?" asked Aaron.

"Why would Jasper be here?" asked a girl that Payton did not know.

"Jasper is our friend Mallory," replied Aaron in a harsh voice. "He is welcome."

"And who is this?" asked Mallory in the same snotty voice.

"I'm Payton," said Payton before A.J. or Aaron could answer for her. "I am Dr. Patterson's daughter."

"Oh the bitch's kid?" responded Mallory.

"What was that suppose to mean?" demanded Payton.

"You know what. And stay away from my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend?" asked Payton. "Really. He seems quite single at the moment."

"If you were smart, you would stay away from him. He is mine." Mallory stood up and stocked over to Payton. "So get lost Minnesota. No one wants you here."

"Fine," said Payton, turning from the group and walking slowly up the beach to where the cars were parked. She passed the cars and walked up the road, hoping that Harry was home and she could call the doctor to come and pick her up. She laughed at herself for thinking that she was wanted, and continued down the road.


	11. Take Me Home

Chapter 10:

Take Me Home

Payton knocked on the door and waited for it to open. She heard the sounds of footfalls behind her, but she refused to look. "I know you hear me Payton," said Jasper in a soft voice.

"Leave," said Payton. "Please."

"Why?"

"Go ask Mallory." She twisted the name as she said it.

"Mallory?" He gently touched Payton's shoulder and asked, "Why would I ask Mallory?"

"She seems to think that you are her boyfriend, and quite frankly, I am not sure who to believe." She turned around and faced Jasper, shrugging off his hand as she turned. "So please clear the air."

"There is nothing between us. I dated her earlier this year, and nothing came from it."

"Well she thinks differently." Payton placed her hands on her hips and glared at Jasper. The light above them flicked on, telling Payton that Harry would be at the door soon.

"Well Mallory can go somewhere else," said Jasper, twisting the name in the same way that Payton did.

"Just leave. Please," begged Payton as the door opened.

"Payton! Jasper!" said Harry. "What do I owe this pleasure to?"

"May I use your phone Harry?" asked Payton.

"Sure. Come in." Payton entered the room and picked up the phone, cursing herself for forgetting her cell in her room.

She dialed the doctor's number and heard Harry say, "So what have you been up to?"

"Nothing much," said Jasper. "You?"

"Ah, the same old same old," replied Harry.

The doctor picked up on the other end of the line and said, "Hello?"

"Doctor?" said Payton. "This is Payton. Can you come and pick me up?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I was uninvited."

"By who?" asked the doctor.

Payton started to answer, but was startled as Jasper appeared at her elbow and asked for the phone. "Let me talk to him," he mouthed.

"Jasper wants to talk to you sir," said Payton in an annoyed voice.

"Jasper who?"

"Hale."

"Oh. Put him on."

"Here he is." Payton handed Jasper the phone, which he took into the laundry room and shut the door. Payton huffed and walked over to where Harry was standing. "So how was your night Harry?" asked Payton trying to make small talk.

"So who kicked you out kiddo?"

"A girl named Mallory. I never caught her last name."

"Ah. You must be talking about Mallory Benson. She is a little territorial."

"A little?" asked Payton, eyes bugging out.

"Well maybe a little bit more than a little." He laughed as Payton rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about her. She is no competition to you."

"Says who?"

"Me," said Jasper as he walked into the room. "I am going to take you home."

"What about the fire?" asked Payton.

"Who cares about the fire."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Jasper taking her hand in his and smiling down at her. He pulled her out the door, and together they walked in the twilight.

"Where are we going?"

"I'll show you in a second."

"Sure you will," mumbled Payton as she tried to keep up with Jasper's fast gate. Finally she said, "Will you slow down?"

"Sorry," said Jasper as he slowed to a crawl. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you."

"No problem."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"What do you think of Mallory?"

"I think that she needed to leave, and that she ruined a perfectly good evening for many people."

"Do you like her?"

Jasper looked down at Payton and then stopped. He turned her into him and slowly tucked her bangs behind her ear. "What do you think?" Payton couldn't breathe. She desperately needed air, but she couldn't make her lungs work. Jasper leaned in and touched his lips to hers. "I can get use to this," he whispered onto her lips. Payton just nodded and then kissed him back again. Jasper laughed and then continued to walk down the road.

"So where are we going?" asked Payton leaning onto him as they walked.

Jasper put his arm around her waist and said, "We are almost there. I want you to meet some people."

"Oh," said Payton as she looked around the dark town. The houses were starting to thin out, and this made Payton slightly uneasy.

"Settle," said Jasper. "You are as flighty as a horse tonight."

"Well it is a little dark out, and…" Payton left the sentence dangling.

"And what?" prompted Jasper.

"And I don't like things in the dark."

"And what is in the dark that scares you?"

"Monsters."

Jasper pondered that for a second and then slowly said, "And what would help keep the monsters away?"

"You," said Payton.

"Well I am right here," Jasper pointed out.

"Are you?" asked Payton.

"Yes," said Jasper. "And I always will be." Payton smiled and leaned her head on his chest as they walked.

Payton let her mind wander as she walked, and barley noticed where they were going. "We're here," said Jasper in her ear. Payton looked around and saw a small house. They were a ways out of the town, and in front of them was a small house. It looked a lot like Ava's house, and it issued a happy glow form the windows. "Let's go. They are expecting us."

"Who is?"

"You'll see. Come on." Jasper pulled Payton's hand and led her up to the house. He didn't knock; he just walked in.

He called when he entered the door, and someone answered, "In the kitchen."

The voice sounded female, and Jasper continued to pull Payton down the hall. They walked into the kitchen, and Payton came face to face with the Q gang. "Welcome home, Jasper," said a pretty girl who was standing at the stove.

"Mary Lou," nodded Jasper. "Everyone, I would like to introduce Payton."

"Hi Payton," said one of the boys. He had a strong jaw, and held out his hand. Payton shook it and smiled at him. "I am Roger, and this is my girlfriend Mary Lou." He pointed to the girl who was standing at the stove, and she raised her hand in greeting. "I am the leader, you might say, of my family. This is Matt, my second in command." The man named Matt was standing against the wall and flashed Payton a smile. He had hard cheekbones that softened when he smiled. "You already know Luke, so last but not least is Ian."

The boy named Ian lifted his head that was rested on the table and looked at Payton. His face was more rounded than the other boys, giving him a babyish look. "Hi," said Payton smiling.

"So," asked Jasper. "Anything new?"

"Nope. No new trails," said Roger.

"Good," said Jasper. "So what is on the agenda for tonight?"

"Luke and Ian are running, Matt has to check on Burt, and I was going to watch a movie with Mary Lou," said Roger.

"Oh God," said Ian. "I think I will puke if I have to think about that."

"Sorry dude," said Roger as he wrapped his arm around Mary Lou's waist and drew her next to him. She blushed and looked over at Payton who smiled sweetly in return.

"So are we invited to the movie?" asked Jasper.

"Yeah," said Mary Lou, bending down to kiss Roger on the lips.

"Nasty," mumbled Ian. Jasper chuckled and wrapped his arm around Payton. "Oh man. Not you too," said Ian, rushing from the table.

"Forget something?" asked Luke in a joking matter.

"Shut up," said Ian from the other room. "I am leaving."

"See ya later guys," said Matt. "And nice meeting you Payton."

"You too," returned Payton as Matt and Luke walked out of the room.

"Let's watch that movie," said Mary Lou, tugging Roger behind her.

"Which movie?" asked Payton as she and Jasper followed them into the living room.

"A chick flick," threatened Mary Lou in a joking voice.

"Drat," said Roger pulling Mary Lou onto the couch. She giggled and fell into his arms.

Japer sat down on the couch, and Payton sat down next to him. She snuggled next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "When do I have to be home?" Payton whispered.

"Not for a while," said Jasper with a smile.

"Good," said Payton as the opening credits rolled down the screen.

Jasper rested his lips on the top of her head and breathed in the heavenly scent of her. "Perfect," said Jasper as the four of them settled into to watch the movie.


	12. Just Because I Love You

Chapter 11:

Just Because I Love You

Payton woke up on Monday to the usual dreariness, but the only difference was that she was basking in the light on her inside. She thought back to Saturday night and sighed. After the movie was done, Jasper had taken her home. When the clock had struck two in the morning, a knock on the window woke her up.

* * *

"Payton," hissed Jasper through the window.

Payton quickly jumped out of her bed, landing on her bad leg during the process, and rushed over to the window. She quickly opened it and hissed, "What are you doing?"

"Making sure your safe," replied Jasper as he climbed into the room.

"Why wouldn't I be safe?" Jasper took Payton's hand and led her over to her bed. He sat down and pulled Payton onto his lap. He rested his head on top of hers and breathed in. "Why wouldn't I be safe?" repeated Payton.

"Because," said Jasper. He tightened his arms around Payton in a protective way.

"What did your brothers find?"

"Nothing you should worry about," said Jasper gruffly.

"But obviously it is enough for you to worry about," said Payton, slightly peeved. She tried to pull away, but found that Jasper's grasp was too firm.

"Do you know what you are to me?" asked Jasper, changing the subject.

"What do you mean?" asked Payton, turning around on his lap to face him.

"I have what we call imprinted on you."

"Release," ordered Payton. Jasper quickly dropped his arms and watched as Payton scurried over to a large bookshelf. She pulled a book off of the shelf and threw it at Jasper. "Page three-hundred and sixty."

Jasper glanced at the cover page and then looked up at Payton. "Really."

"Look it up. Tell me if that is what you and I are like."

"Yes," said Jasper without even opening the book. "That is what it is like."

"Weird," said Payton turning her back to Jasper. She looked up at the ceiling and tried to control her breathing.

She felt Jasper's arms weave around her torso and heard his whisper, "Panic attack?"

"Shut up," she said with a tight voice.

"Are you crying?" asked Jasper in horror.

"Why would you care?" demanded Payton as a tear ran down her cheek.

"What can I do?" asked Jasper with pain in his voice. He hated seeing her in pain, and it physically hurt him to see her cry.

"Leave," whispered Payton.

"Okay," said Jasper, turning around and starting for the door.

"Wait," breathed Payton when Jasper reached the window. "I changed my mind."

Jasper smiled slightly and strode over to where Payton was standing in two strides. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Can you stay?"

"Anything." Payton smiled weakly and Jasper bent down and trapped her lips in a kiss. "Better?" he asked.

"One other thing," said Payton slowly.

"And what would that be?"

"What is out there? You never did answer me."

"The thing that is out there is the same thing that killed my mother. I can't lose you too."

Payton let a tear run down her cheek as she pressed her head into his warm chest. "I'm scared."

"For what?"

"For you and your brothers. You are a bunch of boys. You're not that smart."

"That was below the belt."

"But still true," mumbled Payton as she untangled herself from Jasper. She walked over to her bed and plopped down. "Stay till I am asleep?" she whispered in a hopeful voice.

"Anything," whispered Jasper as he slowly laid down beside Payton, waiting out the night to watch her sleep.

* * *

Payton smiled at the happy thought, and tried to push the scary ones out of her mind. She didn't want to ruin the day, and she knew that that was the best way to do so. She sighed and rolled out of bed, ever so careful for her leg. She walked over to her bathroom and hopped in the shower, hoping the hot water would make her feel better.

Once she was done she quickly threw some make-up on and gelled her hair into tiny spikes. She then threw on an old pair of jeans and her black knit sweater. Once presentable, she looked herself over in the mirror and ran her fingers through her wet bangs. A honk sounded from downstairs, and that sent her running.

When she passed the kitchen, she quickly grabbed a package of pop-tarts and then ran out to Jasper and his beat up car. "Howdy," he said when she jumped in.

"Hello to yourself," said Payton, looking over her boyfriend/ true love/ perfect match and then said, "You look like crap. When did you sleep last?"

"None of your business."

"Fine," huffed Payton, and then under her breath she added, "I'll just ask one of your brothers."

"I heard that," said Jasper with a smile on his face.

"Well I don't care." She glared at him and then added in a softer voice, "Though you should get some sleep."

"I will, I will," he said, patting her hand.

"When?"

"When this is all done and over with."

"Well I hope this ends quickly."

"Me too," said Jasper, pulling Payton closer to his side. "I hate not knowing if you are safe or not."

"Are we or are we not taking this a little fast? You seem like a worried husband."

"Just because I love you," he said planting a wet kiss on her cheek.

"Nasty," squealed Payton, wiping the wetness off of her cheek. "That was gross."

"Just because I love you," repeated Jasper.

"Whatever wolf boy," said Payton leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I like that."

"Which part? The name or me leaning on you?"

"Both," said Jasper, not missing a beat. "Oh, and can you go over to Mary Lou's house after school. There are some things that I need to do, and I am leaving after lunch."

"Oh," said Payton. "Sure."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes. Just be careful."

"I will. Just for you."

"I am counting on that," said Payton kissing him on the cheek.

"You missed."

"Sorry," said Payton, fixing her mistake and kissing him on the lips this time. "I didn't want to distract you."

"Whatever," said Jasper, kissing her again for good measures.


	13. Things That Go All Fuzzy

**Hello. I am so sorry that I haven't posted in ages. I hate to admit, but this slips my mind quite often. When you send me reviews though I do remember to put my pen to paper (or my fingers to keys) to get you the next few chapters to read. :D**

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Chapter 12:

Things That Go All Fuzzy

Payton sat at the lunch table and quietly picked at her food. Ava came up from behind and sat down beside her. "Mallory can be a real bitch," she said simply as she opened her carton of milk.

Payton looked down the lunch table and spotted the red haired vixen taking a seat beside Aaron. Mallory placed her arm around Aaron, who was now frozen in fear. "Who is Aaron dating?" asked Payton remembering the day the boys picked her up and Aaron wouldn't go and get her because he had a girlfriend.

"Susan," said Ava with in a small voice. "And Susan hates Mallory already. This won't be good."

The entire lunch room turned to look at the doors as a scream, much like a banshee, was issued from a very mad Susan. "You slut!!" she cried as she ran over to Aaron and Mallory. Aaron was still in shock that Mallory would be so bold and hadn't moved an inch, his eyes wide with fear. "Get. Off. My. Boyfriend," she said, accenting each word as she spat them out.

"Your boyfriend?" asked Mallory slyly. "He seems quite comfortable with me." She smiled an innocent smile up at Susan and winked at Aaron.

The wink was what broke the spell. Aaron shoved off the table and scrambled to the far side of Susan. "Get her," he whispered with fear in his voice. "I didn't do anything."

"I know!" said Susan, enraged and spitting with fury. "You just let her get all snuggly with you."

Aaron was starting to get mad and soon he was shaking. "Luke?" yelled Ava uncertainly. "Help?" Aaron twitched slightly and then went deathly still, fury fuming from his eyes.

"Luke!!" screamed both Ava and Payton. Luke jumped from his seat, Matt following right behind and grabbed Aaron. They pulled him outside, the still body of Aaron twitching ever so slightly as they went to the woods behind the school.

Ava, Payton, and Susan rushed to the door and watched as they boys, barley concealed by the woods began to shake furiously. Shredded fabric went flying as three shadows moved into the woods, two of them supporting the third. "Well Sue," said Ava with a small smile. "Your man just went all fuzzy on you."

"Shut up Ava," snapped Susan. "Now I am going to kill that little slut," she said starting to where Mallory was standing. Her green eyes were filled with fear from the recent events. "You still want him?" snapped Susan. "Because you will have to kill me first." She took a menacing step towards Mallory and Mallory let out a frightened squeal. She ran from the lunch room leaving Susan with a grinning smile on her face.

* * *

Payton slid into her seat for History a good ten minutes late. The teacher didn't see her come in and she let out a breath of air. The conversation she had just had with the girls rang in her mind.

* * *

"They made me do it," whispered Susan frantically. Ava and Payton leaned in so they could better hear. "And I can't believe I did it."

"Who made you do what?" asked Ava, a confused look on her face.

"Roger and Matt," she hissed. "They made me make Aaron mad so he would go through his first shift."

"When did they tell you to do this?" asked Payton, finally seeing the true meaning of this.

"Last week sometime. But I had to wait for something to happen to yell at him for. To make him question my trust in him." She shook her head sadly. "Did you see the look in his eyes when Mallory came up to him? He was scared stiff at what she would do."

"So they asked you to do this before Jas became furry?" said Payton.

"Yeah," said Susan sadly. "I feel so bad and I don't know what to do."

"At least Aaron shifted," said Ava sadly. "Myles just looked at me with disappointment and walked away."

"What do you mean?" asked Susan with a crinkled brow. "I thought that you and Myles broke up because you got in a fight about Luke and Ian."

"We did. Ian told me to use them as a way to get them mad. The problem was, was that Myles didn't want to hurt me so he never got mad."

"Why don't you talk to him anymore?" asked Payton, looking from Ava to Myles and back again. Every time she looked over there she saw Myles staring longingly at Ava, and Ava at him. The only problem was that neither went to each other to make things right.

"He says he doesn't like me anymore. Says he can't trust me to trust him when it comes to some things."

"Would your parents mind if you came over tomorrow night for a sleep-over?" asked Payton, an ingenious idea coming to her mind.

"I think not," said Susan softly. "Would the boys be there?"

"Duh," said Ava softly. "Like they would leave us unprotected. Two of us have a wolf all to ourselves and the other has a big hairy brother."

"True," said Susan. "We will ask and get back to you."

"Yeah," said Ava. "It will be nice to get away from the testosterone levels for a little bit." The girls laughed as they rushed off to class, knowing that they would already be late.

* * *

Payton stepped out of the front doors of the school and looked around. She couldn't remember for the life of her where Mary Lou lived. She stood off to the side thinking and jumped when the husky voice of Matt said, "Follow me." Payton just nodded and scurried after him.

When they reached Mary Lou's house, Payton knew she would easily be able to find it again when the time arose. "Thanks Matt," she said as she walked up to the door.

"No prob," said Matt, walking into the woods behind the house, stripping off his shirt as he went. Payton shook her head and opened the door into the house.

"Hello?" she called as she stood in the front hall.

"In the back," yelled Mary Lou as she stuck her head around the corner. "Come on back here. I need your help."

"Sure," said Payton as she dropped her bag to the ground and went to Mary Lou. "What do you need me to do?"

"What looks sexier?" asked Mary Lou, holding up two dresses. One was a cream color that would fall to mid thigh. It was a halter top, but the neckline was very modest. That could not be said for the red dress. The filmy fabric stopped at the same length, but covered very little in between.

"The cream one," said Payton, not even bothering to have her try them on. "The red one will make you look like a hooker."

"Ooh thank you so much," said Mary Lou with delight. "Roger is taking me out to a dance club tonight and I wanted to look good for him."

Payton smiled and said, "I think you could wear a baggy old brown dress with no form and he would still think the moon and the stars revolved around you."

Mary Lou giggled and then turned serious. "Did you talk to the guys about Aaron? I heard he had a break down at lunch."

"I saw it," said Payton with a shake of her head. "They almost didn't get him to the woods."

"Have you ever seen them shift?"

"No. You?"

"Yeah," she said sadly. "Roger shifted right in front of me to save my life. I didn't know him too well then and we had never said boo to each other, but when he saved me…"

"It was like sparks flying?" guessed Payton.

"Exactly." She smiled over to Payton and then said, "Well we best start our homework and see what the boys have to tell us when they get back."

"Yeah," said Payton will a small smile, thinking of her boy in particular. She started making a mental note of things that turned furry. On the top of her list was Jasper, followed by her body when Jasper was around, and so the list went on.


	14. The Frights the Night Brings

Chapter 13

The Frights the Night Brings

Payton's ringing cell phone woke her up. She groggily flipped it open and said, "'Ello?"

"Payton dear?" said the voice of her grandmother. Payton sat straight up on the couch she was napping on as her grandmother said, "This is your grandma."

"Hi grams," said Payton, her voice full of charm. "How are you doing?"

"I am doing good sweetheart, though the doctor called to tell me that you weren't wearing your brace and hurt your leg again."

"I know grams," said Payton sadly. "I was wrong and I should have worn it, but it makes me look like a cripple."

"Honey," said Payton's grandmother sweetly. "You are a cripple."

"Thanks grandma," said Payton, her voice full of sarcasm. "That was exactly what I needed to hear."

"I know darling. And is the doctor with you?"

"No he isn't," said Payton checking the clock on the wall. 8:30. "I'll have him call you when he gets home," Payton said with a smile on her face.

"Thank you dear," said her grandmother as she hung up.

Payton scratched her head as she strained to hear any life in the big house. She listened the thought she heard something in the kitchen. She quickly stood up and made her way down the hall when her phone rang again. She looked at the front and smiled. "Hello Ava, Susan."

"Hello!" they said in unison.

"Speaker phone?" guessed Payton.

"Bingo," said Ava.

"So did you clear everything with the doctor? Cause we can come," said Susan with a light voice.

"Actually the doctor isn't home yet," said Payton slowly. "This is very weird."

"Call Mary Lou's house," said Ava quickly. "They will get Jas over to you."

"I am sure he is just on a late night call," said Payton. "So Sue," she said changing the subject. "Any words from Aaron… or howls for that matter?"

"None," she said sadly. "Though I hope tomorrow will be different. And remember no school Wednesday so we can sleep in."

"Sweetness," said Ava.

"Yeah," said Payton, still looking at the door the kitchen.

"Call Mary Lou," said Ava, as if reading Payton's distressed mind. "Jasper will kill you if he knew that you were home alone and scared out of your mind."

"I am not scared," defended Payton.

"Really?" asked Ava not convinced in the least. "But seriously call the house."

"Fine," said Payton. "And I will send you a text when the doctor comes home."

"Bye," said the girls together with a giggle.

"Bye," said Payton softly as she walked to the kitchen door. She didn't open the door but instead called Mary Lou's number.

"Hello?" asked Mary Lou on the third ring.

"Mary Lou, its Payton."

"Hey Payton," she said. "What do you need?"

"Can you have one of the guys get a hold of Jasper? The doctor isn't home yet, and I am getting worried."

"Sure, sure," said Mary Lou. "I will do that now."

"Thanks," said Payton with relief in her voice. She hung up the phone and pushed open the door. The sights that awaited her made her head spin and bile to rise with a scream.

Payton threw up, scaring herself even more. She let out a scream and felt the tears run down her face. She quickly backed out of the room, a metallic smell following her and ran down the hall. She threw open the front door and ran for the woods. Her mind screamed to run and her body obeyed, taking her as far from the kitchen as she could go.

She ran for what seemed like hours, but in reality were only a few minutes. She was deep in the forest by now and as lost as ever. She stopped and sunk down beside a tree and let her tears run un-checked. Her mind wandered back to the bloody mess of the kitchen. The thought of blood made her throw up again, making her cry even harder. She wrapped her arms around her, shivering from both the fright and the cold. She scooted away from her bile and curled up against a tree, crying herself into a fitful sleep.


	15. Blood, Blood, and More Blood

Chapter 14:

Blood, Blood, and More Blood

Payton was vaguely aware of herself being lifted from the cold ground by warm arms, but didn't want to wake up and face the reality that life had brought her. Blood. She gagged and tried to throw up, but nothing came out. She shuddered and huddled closer to the warmth that was wrapped around her. She was aware when the arms placed her gently on a bed; her bed. She shivered from the cold and wrapped her arms around her torso, shuddering from the onslaught of memories. Her first puppy, lying lifeless in the street; the old man who was shot in the mall; a crunch of metal; the metallic smell of blood. A small scream left her mouth and the warm arms were back, pulling her into a strong chest. She grabbed the front of its shirt only to realize it wasn't wearing a shirt.

* * *

"Shh," whispered Jasper quietly as he rocked the crying Payton back and forth. She clung to him like he was her only life line. He wished he could see what she saw, what she remembered, but he daren't ask. He heard footsteps outside of the door and watched as the doctor came in.

"Where did you find her?" he asked, his face looking ten years older.

"Out in the woods about a half mile out. She was shivering and crying when I found her." Jasper looked down at his love and shook his head. "I will call the boys to clean up the kitchen."

"Thank you," said the doctor. "Let me look at her for a moment and then you can come and sit with her again."

"Yes sir," said Jasper as he stood up.

The doctor leaned over Payton and checked her body for any harm. She was scared stiff and cold, but all the trauma seemed to be in her mind. The blood had to have brought back horrid memories, though all the doctors had said she didn't remember a thing. The doctor shook his head and covered Payton with a few more blankets before quietly closing the door.

Jasper stood across the hall with a worried look on his face. "So?" he asked.

"She is fine on the outside, but I think her mind will take a while to heal."

"Will she go to school tomorrow?" he asked staring at the door as if he could see through it.

"I will see in the morning and give you a call if she is going." Jasper nodded but still stared at the door. The doctor placed his hand on Jasper's shoulder and said, "As long as you are there for her she will be okay. Just remember that son."

"So I have permission to date her?" asked Jasper shyly.

"Yeah," said the doctor heading down the hall to the lower floor.

"Thank you," whispered Jasper as he slowly opened the door and walked into Payton's room.

* * *

"That was a lot of blood," whispered Susan as she stared at the sleeping Payton. "I would have freaked too."

"Would you have run?" asked Aaron looking down with worry in his eyes.

"If you would come and find her she would have done anything," said Ava with envy in her voice.

"Shh," said A.J. as he pointed to Payton. "She moved."

Jasper went over to her and smoothed his hand over her brow. "What was the blood from?" he asked, knowing Aaron would know by the scent of it.

"Pig," he said. "And it still smells in there. I don't think she will be able to go in there for a while without freaking out."

"Nice," said A.J. "So she will be all twitchy like Old Ma'am Johnson?" He giggled at the thought of a twitchy Payton.

"Shove it," said Jasper, shoving A.J. with his foot.

"Fine, fine," said A.J. He looked at the wall clock and whistled. "Midnight already?"

"Yeah," said Ava. "We should all be heading home." She looked over to Jasper. "You staying here Jas?"

"Yeah," he said nodding his head, but not looking away from Payton.

"And to think we can't come over tomorrow after school," said Susan with a pouting face.

"I think you guys should still come over," said the voice of the doctor from the door. "I really don't want her to be alone just yet. I will send her to school tomorrow most likely just to get her away from the house." The group of kids nodded in agreement. "And you guys can come over. Invite her friends and get her mind off of these events."

"Yes sir," said Jasper. "Do you want me to stay tonight?"

"Do I have a choice? Roger called to say that there would be a guard near here at all time till this gets cleared up."

"That is right sir. I'll keep watch tonight."

"That is fine then." He turned to the rest of the group and said, "Now all you get back before your parents have my neck."

"Yes sir," they said in unison as they made their way out the door, leaving Jasper with Payton and the doctor standing outside the room.

* * *

Red.

Black.

Red.

Black.

Red.

Black.

Red.

Black.

The colors popped into Payton's head with images both good and bad.

Red: Metal wrapping around metal.

Black: Warm arms surrounding her, taking the metal away.

Red: Blood on her legs and unbearable pain.

Black: Soft touches cleaning away the red and soothing the hurt.

Red: Scared tears.

Black: Gentle touches wiping them away.

Red: A red kitchen floor.

Black: The solitude of night and the warmth of arms around her.

Thoughts ran through Payton's head as she fought the nightmares for a wink of sleep. She never went into a slumber, but she never woke up either. By morning she was bone tired and ready to die.


	16. Forgotten

Chapter 15:

Forgotten

Payton woke up with the sun streaming in her eyes. She rolled her head to the other side of the pillow and tried to push reality away from her mind. "Good morning," said the soft but husky voice of Jasper.

"Please say last night was a dream. A horrid, horrid dream," she begged, turning her head to look at him. She sucked in a breath of air as she took in the sight of him. His hair was a mess, but looked as sexy as ever. His white shirt looked to be a size too small but hugged each of his muscles. The early morning, and very rare, sunlight surrounded him in a halo of light. His dark eyes shone with love.

"Sorry love," he said with a sad smile.

"How bad did I react?" she asked, not really remembering the last twelve hours.

"You don't remember?" he asked with a furrowed brow. "How can you not remember?"

"I don't know. I never remembered the crash," she replied shrugging her shoulders. She could always remember the details right up to anything bad that happened, but the bad parts were always hidden away from her memory. "I guess I am just like that," she said softly.

"Yeah," said Jasper, clearly thinking of something other than his slightly off balanced girlfriend. "Well the girls will be here soon," he said standing up.

"You coming to school?"

"No," he said simply.

"Why not?" she asked, not liking his previous answer.

"Revenge," he said simply, walking out of her room.

She sighed and leaned back into her pillows. "Men," she muttered.

"Can't live with them-"

"Can't live without them," finished Susan as she and Ava walked into Payton's room.

"So you feeling better?" asked Ava with a worried look.

"Yeah," said Payton. "Can't remember a thing though."

"This is going to be fun," said Susan sarcastically, walking to Payton's closet and sifting through the clothes. "This, this, and this," she said throwing three articles of clothing at Payton. "Put them on and we will meet you downstairs."

"On second thought," said Ava. "Put some make-up on too. You look like shit."

"Thanks," said Payton with no humor in her voice. "I don't see why you are all babying me."

"You don't see?" screeched Susan. "You fucken screamed your head off last night and ran into the woods, and you can't see why your friends are worried?"

"Why are you yelling?" said Payton softly. "I don't remember last night."

"How so?" asked Ava, clearly not on a ragged edge like Susan was.

"I remember talking to you, and then calling Mary Lou. Then I opened up the kitchen…"

"And," prompted Susan, recovering slightly from her previous attack.

"Then nothing. I woke up with a worried Jasper sitting beside my bed."

"She's a twack job," said Susan with a flurry of arms and hair.

"Hold is Sue," said Ava. Turning to Payton she asked, "Tell me about the crash."

"The crash?" asked Susan and Payton together.

"Yeah. The crash."

"Well," started Payton. "It was a sunny day. We were driving back from the lake when…"

"When what?" prompted Ava.

"I can't remember," said Payton with a shocked voice. "We went around a turn, and everything goes black."

"That's helpful," said Susan.

"Susan," snapped Ava. "Forget Aaron for a second. He was stressed and held together quite well last night."

"And he left!" yelled Susan.

"He just shifted not twelve hours before. We will talk to them tonight," said Ava calmly.

"Oh no," said Payton.

"What?" asked Ava in a worried voice.

"I didn't ask the doctor if you could all come over tonight."

"We asked him and he said yes," said Susan. "Now get ready. We can't be late for school."

Payton nodded and the others left the room. Once outside, Ava said, "She represses her memories. She is protecting herself."

"You can do that?" asked Susan with wonder in her voice.

"Yeah you can. Though you tend to not remember anything that happened until you go to sleep and wake up again. She has no memory of anything after nine last night."

"What about dreams?" Susan asked worried.

"Nightmares are horrid."

"How would you know?"

"I use to repress memories all the time," said Ava. "Luke attacked me once and ended up killing our dog. He doesn't trust himself around people when he is mad. It gets real scary."

"Poor Luke," whispered Susan. "And sorry."

"Bout what?" asked Ava.

"Bout yelling and freaking about Aaron. I'm just worried."

"We all are, but for now we just have to get twiddle brain through school and back here as soon as possible so we can have some fun with our men."

"Maybe these repressed memories will be good," said Susan hopefully.

"Yeah, till she goes to bed. Then it is Jasper's problem not ours." The two of them laughed and headed down the stairs to wait for Payton to finish getting ready.

* * *

**I know this chapter was random, but some things needed to be explained and all the boring stuff comes with the story. Sorry. :)**


	17. Women Are Like Cheese

**Just as a note: The italiced words in quotes are what the pack is thinking to eachother. Like the wolves in Meyer's books they can hear eachother's thoughts. Thanks and Please Review. I like hearing from all of you. :)**

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Chapter 16

Women Are Like Cheese

The awkward silence was building around Payton's large dining room table as Payton, Ava, Susan, A.J., and Jasper ate a cheese and cracker snack. They were all silently nibbling on their crackers except for A.J. who like normal was oblivious to all going-ons.

"You know what?" said A.J. suddenly, staring at a piece of cheese.

"What?" sighed Jasper, clearly expecting the worse.

"Women are like cheese," stated A.J. with determination.

"Cheese?" said Susan, still depressed about the absence of Aaron.

"Yes!" exclaimed A.J. "Cheese!"

"He is off his rocker," said Ava, staring at A.J. and the cheese he held with care.

"But do you know how they are like cheese?" challenged A.J., not liking the reactions of his friends.

"They start to smell if you leave them out too long in the sun?" guessed Jasper.

"Exactly!" said A.J. with a triumphant smile. "…wait. NO!!" he yelled. "They are unreachable."

"How so?" probed Ava.

"You can only look at the cheese, but if you touch it, your mom yells at your for eating her Buda."

"Gouda," said Payton quietly. "The cheese is called Gouda and you are eating sharp cheddar."

"Why do you know that?" asked A.J. in a frightened voice.

"Cause I ain't stupid like you," snapped Payton. She stood up and fled the room, leaving the others to stare after her.

"Was it something I said?" asked A.J. in a small voice.

"No," said Jasper. "Go pick out a movie and stick it in. I'll go get her and bring her down."

"You sure you don't want us all to leave?" asked Susan. "Or should we get another pack member over here?"

"I'll call someone if I need them, but for now just create a relaxing atmosphere. I think she is remembering," said Jasper as he left the dining room and quickly made his way upstairs.

He silently walked into Payton's room only to find her curled up in a ball on her bed. "Babe," he said in a sad little voice. He crossed the room in two strides and enfolded her in his arms.

She clung to his chest and sobbed, "Who died?"

"No one died babe," he whispered into her hair.

"What about the blood? All the blood in the kitchen? All the red?"

"That wasn't human blood," said Jasper softly, rubbing small circles on her back.

They sat like that for a little while before Payton pulled back slightly and placed her small hand on Jasper's strong jaw. They stared into each other's eyes, one set a serious brown full of love, and the other a scared blue rimmed with red. "Kiss me," murmured Payton so softly that Jasper could barely believe the words. He wanted to so badly, but he thought the timing was slightly off. Payton didn't give him much time to dwell on that thought before she was kissing him.

At first it was slow and sweet, but soon it became a heated, passionate kiss. Jasper rolled Payton over till she was under him and slowly kissed her jaw. Payton moaned with pleasure before pulling Jaspers lips back to hers. He kissed her softly this time, running his fingers softly down the insides of her arms.

When he reached her wrists he shifted his weight slightly to gain access to her stomach that had been revealed. He went back to kissing her jaw and then down her neck as he drew lazy circles on her stomach. Payton ran her hands down the front of his chest and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling up on it slightly.

A clearing of a throat made Jasper's hand's freeze and Payton's face to go bright pink. They both looked over to see A.J. lounging in the doorway. "I was wondering if you had any pop, but I can see that I interrupted something here," said A.J. with a wicked grin.

"A.J.," warned Jasper, moving off of Payton and walking over to his friend. "Did you try looking in a fridge?"

"Umm…," thought A.J.

"Leave," snapped Jasper, kicking A.J. out of the room. He turned back to Payton and glared when he saw she was laughing. "What is so funny?" asked Jasper.

"Your face," giggled Payton.

"Really?" said Jasper, shooting daggers at Payton, making her laugh harder. He walked over to her and started tickling her.

"Stop!" giggled Payton, wiggling out of Jasper's reach.

Suddenly he stopped and put his hand over Payton's mouth. Payton stilled automatically, a look of fear in her eyes. "Stay," whispered Jasper as he quickly left the room. Payton slipped off her bed and hid between the wall and the bed, making herself as small as possible. She hoped that whatever was out there Jasper would take care of.

* * *

By the time Jasper had left the room, he knew that the rest of the pack was just outside. He ran through the front door and shifted in mid-jump. He landed and joined the others in the tracking of whatever was out there. They followed the trail deep into the forest. Whatever it was, was moving fast.

"_Vamp?"_ thought Jasper.

"_Don't smell right,"_ replied Roger, the thoughts traveling from wolf to wolf.

"_Smells too human,"_ pitched in Matt.

"_Yeah,"_ threw in Ian. _"But it's still sickly sweet smelling."_

The pack came to a dead halt, the trail going dead as it went into a fair sized creek. _"Ian and Jasper go up stream. One on each side,"_ ordered Roger. _"Matt and Luke go down. Do the same. If you get the trail, call the others. We need to be careful about this thing."_

"_What bout me?"_ asked Aaron, stepping forward slightly.

"_Go back to the house and make sure they are safe. Stay in wolf form,"_ he ordered. Aaron bobbed his head in acknowledgement and turned his heal running in the direction they came from. _"I'm going to see what this thing did back there. I'll meet up with you in a bit."_

The remaining four wolves turned and ran, one from each group dashing across the creek to search the opposite bank. Roger turned and followed Aaron's path back to the house to check out what the 'thing' was doing back there.

The smell hit him way before the sight did. Blood. And lots of it. He sniffed the air carefully and sighed a sigh of relief. Pig, and whoever was doing this had lots of it to spare. He reached the lane of the doctor's house and spotted the first of the blood. It was splattered across the paved lane and across the trees that lined the drive. The scene looked so much like the kitchen that Roger shuddered.

"_Holy shit,"_ thought Aaron as he watched the scene through Roger's eyes, running a perimeter check.

"_Did you see this in person yet?"_ asked Roger.

"_No,"_ replied Aaron. _"I started just upwind from that point. Never smelt it."_

"_Kay,"_ said Roger, thinking of a plan. _"You stay here. What every this thing wants the doctor must have. Be careful,"_ he said as he ran off to meet up with the rest of the pack. Half way there, Matt sounded the call of finding the scent. In his mind's eye Roger could see Jasper and Ian turn and race down the banks of the creek.

They reached Matt and Luke in record time, running onto the sand beach by the ocean within seconds of each other.

"_It stepped out here,"_ indicated Matt with a nod of his muzzle, _"danced down the shoreline a little bit, and then went into the water."_

"_It's like it wants us to know it got away,"_ said Ian sarcastically. _"It's just so nice."_

"_Shove it,"_ snapped Roger. He let the scene of the lane flit through his head, gauging the horror in the minds of his pack.

"_Fuck,"_ whispered Jasper.

"_What does it want?"_ asked Luke.

"_The doc?"_ threw in Matt.

"_Payton?"_ said Ian.

The entire pack looked at Jasper as he blocked out all proceeding thoughts. _ "Let's just get this bastard and be done with it," _he finally said.

Roger nodded and turned around, running back to the doctor's house. _"Double guard every night. Matt and Luke take tonight. Ian and me tomorrow. Jas, you and Aaron take the next night. We go in that pattern till something else happens."_

"_Kay,"_ replied the pack together as they ran through the trees and back to the danger.


	18. Laughing

Chapter 17:

Laughing

On a small island a little less than a quarter mile away from the point where the creek met the sea stood a woman and a man in their early twenties. Their beauty was dazzling to look at, but they didn't have the granite skin of their parents. A tint of pink flushed their cheeks as their blood washed through them. The woman laughed and looked up at her mate saying, "Run wolvies, run." The man smiled and turned, taking his mate's hand. Together they waded into the sea, resting up for their next attack.


	19. True Loves

Chapter 18:

True Loves

Jasper found Payton huddled in-between her wall and bed and felt a rush of guilt. She was worried sick and frightened out of her skin, and he had left her. "Sorry babe," he whispered as he gently picked her up.

"What was out there?" she uttered.

Jasper thought about what to say and finally decided to tell her all of it. He started from the kitchen scene and continued on. He finished with, "We are trying to figure out what they are and what they want. But you have nothing to worry about. I will be here every night, and two of us will be on guard to watch over you." He rested his head on top of hers and breathed in the fresh scent of her.

"What of the others?" she asked.

"We are watching all of them."

"Good," said Payton, leaning into him.

"Do you want to go and watch the movie?" asked Jasper.

"Just one thing first," said Payton, looking up at him.

"What is that?" he asked, brushing his lips against hers.

"What happened to Ava and Myles? Why aren't they together? They both love each other."

"That might be true…," he left the sentence dangling.

"But what?"

"Myles is different than the rest of us."

"How so?"

"We don't think he is one of us, and Luke doesn't want his little sister dating a static. There was a huge fight, and a lot of blood was shed." Jasper looked out the window with a sad gaze. "That was when Myles and his dad moved out here. They live totally off the land."

"Where do they live?" asked Payton, wondering if her plan would work.

"The caves," said Jasper quietly. "But enough of that," he said, changing the subject. "Let's go down and watch that movie."

Payton just nodded and let herself be led down the stairs and pulled onto the couch. She didn't see a single frame of the picture, her mind running a mile a minute. "Ava, Susan," she said suddenly. "Can you come with me?"

The two girls looked up and nodded. A.J. and Jasper looked at the girls with questions in their eyes, but Jasper let them go. When they had left the room he went over to the large bay windows and looked out.

The girls made their way up to Payton's room in silence. Ava was the first to break the silence by asking, "What happened out there? Jas went running and you never came out."

"The attackers came again," answered Payton simply. "But we have more important business to discuss tonight."

"Like what?" asked Susan, plopping down on the bed.

"Like your men," said Payton with an evil grin. She tossed her cell phone to Ava and said, "Call Myles. He will come."

"Luke will kill him," said Ava in a fearful voice.

"Be brave," said Susan. "If you call him I will go out and yell for Aaron to come to me."

Ava thought about it for a second and then silently thumbed in the number to Myles's cell. She placed the phone to her ear and waited for him to answer.

Finally he answered with a shy hello.

"Myles," said Ava. "This is Ava."

"Oh hi," he replied. "What you need?"

"Payton is having a movie night, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over."

The line on the other end was eerily silent for a long time before Myles said, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah," said Ava softly. "I want this."

"Fine," said Myles. "I'll come over."

"Thanks," said Ava, ending the call with a tap of her thumb. She handed the phone to Payton and then looked at Susan.

"Well Sue," said Payton. "Go yell."

"Fine," huffed Susan, heading for the stairs. Ava and Payton followed with wicked smiles and soon all of them were standing on the front porch facing a wall of trees. "Aaron!" yelled Susan once. The other two waited for her to say something more, but soon Aaron emerged from the trees.

They stared at each other for a little while before Susan flung herself off the porch and into Aaron's waiting arms. At that moment Myles walked through the back door and looked at Ava. They locked eyes and Ava seemed to melt right there. "I'll be in the T.V. room," said Payton with a small smile on her face. It was nearing seven o'clock and finally the evening was starting to look good.


	20. Left Behind

**I will keep trying to get a chapter up a day, but I write so much faster when you review so send me your thought good or bad. I like to hear what you think.

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Chapter 19

Left Behind

Jasper gave Payton a small kiss before heading out to join the pack. She let a small smile creep over her face, but didn't wake up to his tender and loving touch. He looked over to where Susan was and saw Aaron doing the same. Aaron looked up, and with a nod from Jasper left the house.

Once on the porch Aaron said, "It's like we are leaving for battle and won't come back."

"Could happen," said Jasper with a sad look on his face. "I just hope that she doesn't get hurt too badly if I don't make it."

"Hey," demanded Aaron. "Don't say that. This is what we were made for. We will all make it, and our girls will love us all the more."

"Better," said Jasper, walking down the steps and to the trees, stripping his shirt in the process. A lone howl echoed through the trees making both Aaron and Jasper to forget their clothing and to shift right there.

As they entered their wolf form, a series of images hit them, the strongest being two slightly rosy, yet stunningly beautiful people walking up the creek. _"Quick!"_ ordered Roger as all the wolves ran to the stream.

By the time they got there, Matt and the man were locked in battle. Matt let out a yelp and backed off the man, letting then next pack member take a shot. Jasper and Aaron jumped the man while Luke and Ian took down the woman.

The snarls rose to a fighting level until suddenly all was silent. Blood ran out of both the man and the woman.

"_Dead?"_ asked Ian, poking the man with is muzzle.

"_Burn them,"_ ordered Roger.

"_But there is blood,"_ countered Matt.

"_Burn them,"_ repeated Roger.

"_Yes sir,"_ said Matt, bowing under the pressure of the pack leader.

Roger nodded and then turned to Jasper and said, _"Go check on the house. Keep a constant visual. These two might not be the only ones."_

Jasper bobbed his head and tore off to the house, Aaron right behind him. Jasper took the left side of the perimeter and Aaron took the right side, together meeting in the middle.

"_Negative," _reported Aaron.

"_Same,"_ said Jasper. _"Go in and tell the girls what happened. I think we should bring them back to town. Have everyone together. Much easier."_

"_What about the doc?"_

"_Get Harry to convince him to come and watch a game."_

"_I guess,"_ thought Aaron, shifting back into human form. Jasper yipped at him once and Aaron went red. "Yeah. Pants. Good idea."

Jasper chuckled and went to run the perimeter once more and to ask Roger to move the girls.

* * *

Payton woke up from the perfect dream to find Aaron and Jasper gone. She looked over and saw that Susan was up too. A.J. was still snoring on the couch and Myles had Ava wrapped in his arms, both sound asleep. Payton nodded to Susan to come into the kitchen and together they silently made their way to the other room.

Once alone Payton said, "Where do you think they went to?"

"A check around the area?" guessed Susan. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I just hope nothing happens to them," whispered Payton as she stared out the window. She squinted her eyes and said, "What do you make of those?" She pointed to the tree line.

"They look like clothing," stated Susan. "Like the guys didn't pull off their pants before shifting."

"That's not good," said Payton with a voice filled with dread. "Lots could have gone wrong to cause them to lose their pants."

"That just sounds wrong," whispered Susan, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work, so both stared at the trees with intense eyes.

A flash of copper caught their eyes. "Is that one of them?" asked Susan.

"Are they…," started Payton.

"Naked," finished Susan.

"Yeah."

"I think so."

"Nasty."

"Agreed." Susan was silent a moment before she added, "Unless they are our own."

"Yeah," said Payton in a dreamy voice. "You should have heard what happened last night."

"What?" demanded Susan, ready for some good news.

"Jas and I got caught by A.J. going a little far."

"How far is a little far?"

"He was shedding his shirt by my prompting," suggested Payton.

"Pay!" squealed Susan. "That is dirty."

"But it was nice. Jas is a very good kisser."

"He is good at everything," countered Susan. "I wouldn't expect anything different."

"Did he date a lot before me?" asked Payton.

"No. He was always the loner of the group."

"What of A.J.?"

"His girl is Layla, but lately she has been acting weird."

"How so?"

"She doesn't talk to him much, and the day we told you the story was the first time she came to one of our girls' nights in months."

"Weird," said Payton looking out the window again. Again she saw the flash of copper. "Rock, paper, scissors to see who has to go out and see what flashy out there wants."

"Fine," said Susan balling her fist. "Rock, paper, scissors."

Payton laid down the scissors and Susan laid down the paper. "I win," said Payton. "Now go out and see who it is."

"All right," sighed Susan, turning to leave. She walked across the lawn and slipped silently into the shadows of the trees.

"Suze?" asked Aaron in a questioning voice.

"Yeah," replied Susan. "What do you need? And why are you pant-less?"

"Don't ask questions," demanded Aaron, sticking his head out from behind a tree. "I came to tell you that we had some problems this morning, but they are being taken care of."

"And Jasper?" she asked taking a step forward.

"Still loves Payton."

"And you?" asked Susan, taking another step towards Aaron.

"What about me?" asked Aaron.

"Do you still love me?" she was now up to the tree and hugged it much like Aaron on the other side.

"Is that even a serious question?" asked Aaron, staring her in the eyes.

"Yeah," said Susan, taking off her athletic shorts and handing them to Aaron.

His eyes got huge as he took in her now pant-less state. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you my shorts so we can talk."

"But now you are naked."

"Whitey tighties," countered Susan, pointing to her underwear.

"What if someone sees you?" demanded Aaron, slipping on her shorts so he could scold her properly.

"Then I will blame you," she said with a devilish smile. She closed the gap between them and kissed him boldly on the lips.

"Oh," said Aaron when the pulled apart.

"Yeah," smiled Susan, kissing him again. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and intertwined her fingers in his hair. "I missed you," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," said Aaron, pulling away. "But I got to go again. I will see you when I can."

Susan nodded and said, "Just make sure you do and that Jas does the same for Pay. She might seem like she can handle these things, but she can't. Tell him that."

"I will," said Aaron kissing Susan one last time.

He turned and walked back into the woods leaving her standing alone in the woods. She turned around and walked back to the house.

When she entered the kitchen again Payton stared open mouthed and asked, "Where are your pants?"

Susan looked at Payton with glistening eyes and said, "I'll tell you some other time."

"Are we being left behind again?"

"Yeah." That small word answered it all, but left so many more unanswered questions.


	21. Flash Backs

**Princesaangelbebe: The "enemy" are in fact like Nessie. I haven't decided if I should put Nessie in it, making her the angle gone bad for some reason, but I don't think that will happen. Hope that helps your question.

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Chapter 20:

Flash Backs

Payton paced back and forth in front of the fire place, feeling the cold draft that was blowing through the chimney. The other's had left shortly after breakfast, so she was home alone with no one to turn to. Her mind churned as she thought of the past events. When the red came she let the numbness wash over her.

* * *

The day was sunny, but the car ride was tense. Payton Lexton and her parents, Mark and Patty Lexton rode through the winding roads of Minnesota. "I said I was sorry," said Payton as she glared up at her mom and dad. This was at least the tenth time she had said she was sorry, but still her parents had that disappointed look to them.

"We will talk about this when we get home missy," said Mark in a stern voice.

"You are in big trouble," Patty reinforced, placing a loving hand on Mark's arm.

"God I hate you!" screeched Payton as she glared at her parents.

"Payton Marie," warned her father, turning back to look at Payton. The car drifted over the center line as the turn came, and soon Payton and Patty were screaming. A large semi had come around the turn. Payton could see the fear in the driver's eyes as the small car crumpled upon its self.

* * *

Payton let the tears run unchecked down her cheeks as she realized it was all her fault. The harder she thought the clearer it became. She had distracted her father and the last words she had ever said to her parents was she that she hated them. Oh how wrong she was. Every night before she fell asleep the tears came, and with those tears was the resentment of not knowing how to show her love to her parents just one last time.

The relationship between her and her 'father' had always been stressed, but Payton could never figure out why. She had always adored and admired her father, but he was always pushing her away. As she looked over the facts she knew now that it was because she wasn't his. She was some man's daughter from Washington State. And the worst part was that she didn't know either one of her fathers. She thought back and let the day of the crash wash over her.

* * *

Payton looked around and giggled like a loser. She sneaked around the edge of the pier and found who she was giggling about. "Hey," she said, flicking her blonde hair that fell just past her shoulder.

"Hey yourself," said the hunk across from her. He was ripped beyond belief and was tan too. He walked over to Payton and pulled her into a lip lock. It wasn't a sweet one, but rather a harsh one. When they broke apart he said, "I like your style."

She grinned and then winked at him saying, "I think you will like more than just that." He raised an eyebrow, but still pulled her along behind him so they were hidden more by the large poles holding up the pier. Payton nervously glanced around and swallowed. She had never done anything remotely like this, and she was afraid of what would happen. _'Just a summer fling,'_ she repeated to herself as the boy pulled her farther and farther back.

Once they were hidden enough for him he pushed her against a pole and kissed her with a fierceness that scared her. He ran his hands down her arms her and then started going for her chest.

That was about the point that Payton was not going to. She started to pull back when the gruff voice of her father said, "Explain."

That one word sent fear down her spine as Payton pushed the boy away from her. "Daddy," she started in an innocent tone.

"Get over here," he said, pulling her back to the beach, his hand cutting off the circulation in her arm.

"You're hurting me," whined Payton, trying to get away from her father.

"Shut it," snapped her father.

"Mark?" called Patty in a worried tone.

"In the car," ordered Mark. "NOW!" he roared, causing a few heads to turn and look at the slightly dysfunctional family.

"I can explain," whispered Payton as her father shoved her into the car.

"About what part? The kiss or the sex?"

"Sex?" squeaked Patty and Payton together.

"I know you were going to do it," said Mark sternly. "We will talk about this when we get home."

"You are so unfair!" yelled Payton from the back seat. "You don't even know the whole story."

* * *

Payton let another tear roll down her face as she remembered the day at the beach. "Stupid boy," she whispered, curling up and sobbing into her arms.

She laid there for an hour before the sounds of footsteps made her look up. "Payton?" asked the doctor in a worried tone. "Did something else happen?"

Payton just shook her head no.

"Where is Jasper?"

"Why the hell would I know?" she whispered.

"Did you two get into a fight?" he asked worried.

Another shake of the head.

He sat down on the couch beside her and pulled her into his arms. She curled up next to him and laid her head on his shoulder, more tears coming. "Then what is it?"

"My dad thought I was a whore," she whispered.

"Why?" asked the doctor, not trying to deny anything. He was smart enough to realize that would make Payton even more upset.

"Cause he saw me kissing a boy the day of the crash."

"Who was the boy?" asked the doctor smoothing down Payton's hair.

"I don't know. I don't even remember his name. I met him on the beach that day."

"Ah."

"Yeah." She sighed and relished in the strong and always loving arms of a father; arms that she had never felt before. "We were fighting over it, and I was trying to tell him that I wasn't kissing him anymore when he turned around to yell at me and crossed the middle line."

"Then the truck hit you?"

"Yes," whispered Payton. "I feel so bad for that man. He looked so scared."

"Payton," said the doctor, pulling Payton's chin up to look her in the eye. "The crash wasn't your fault and it wasn't the driver's fault, and it wasn't even Mark's fault. Remember that."

Payton just nodded, too scared to say anything else.

"Go upstairs and get some sleep. You look horrible."

"Thanks," she murmured, standing up to walk away.

He nodded and stood up after her. "I think I will call Martha to come watch you while I am at work. I'll feel better," he added quickly when Payton started to protest.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll be in my room."

"Okay love," he said, kissing her on the forehead before she turned to walk up the stairs.

When she reached her door, Payton hear a noise from inside. She could hear the doctor downstairs still, so she decided it would be safe enough. She swung open the door and squeaked at who she saw bloodied before her.


	22. Cuts and Scrapes

Chapter 21:

Cuts and Scrapes

"Oh my G-" started Payton before she was shushed into silence. She looked at the bloody mess before her and then whispered, "Jas? What the hell happened to you?"

"Pay," he murmured taking a step towards her.

She held up her hand, stopping the words that he was going to say. "Just stay here." She turned around and shut her bedroom door silently. She walked down the hall, her feet making no sounds, and slipped into the bathroom. She closed that door also and started rummaging through the cupboard. Finally she found what she was looking for and snuck back to her room.

When she entered she saw Jasper sitting on her desk chair staring at a picture. "Who are they?" he asked showing the picture to her.

"No one in particular," she replied, opening up the box she had and taking out the cleaning wipes. "This might hurt," she whispered. She carefully started cleaning the blood off of his coppery skin, but stopped at his sharp intake of breath. "Sorry," she breathed.

"No keep going," he whispered also. "I can be brave."

"Do I want to know what happened?" she asked, continuing to clean up his arms first. She then moved to his neck and face and gasped at the large gash running from his temple to his jaw. "Yes I do," she said, answering her previous question."

"I ran into some of those things again. This time," he finished in a whisper. "This time I was alone."

"What are they?" she whispered, worry lacing her words.

"Roger thinks they are half human and half vamp. Our cuts don't heal like they should when the skin is broken." He looked up into her eyes as he let her clean his cuts.

"Will they leave scars?" she questioned as she finished cleaning up his arms and face. She grabbed the antiseptic ointment and smeared a liberal amount over all of the cuts.

"Don't know yet," he whispered when she placed the gauze over his cuts, taping them in place. "Would you still like me with this?" he asked, pointing to his face.

She tenderly touched the gauze and said, "Scars won't stop me from loving you."

"Good," he sighed, leaning down to kiss her.

"Take off your shirt," she said in a breathless tone when they parted.

"Isn't this an inopportune moment?" he asked with a weird look in his eyes.

"I need to clean the cuts on your chest and back."

"I don't have any there," he quietly said, taking a step back.

"Bologna," she said, pulling the hem of his shirt carefully up.

She gasped quite loudly when she saw the deep gashes on his chest. She pushed him around and took a careful look at his back before ordering him to remove his shirt. He took one look at her and quickly complied. "I told you I didn't want you to see these."

"These are deep," she whispered, taking a fresh wipe and started cleaning his back. Five deep, long cuts ran from his left shoulder to his right hip, stopping just before his waist line. He sucked in a hissing breath of air as she cleaned them out, but didn't say a complaining word. She put ointment on them and then bandaged them up. "Turn around." He did so and she let a small tear run down her cheek as she thought of the pain he had to be in. "You pig-headed retard," she muttered as she took another wipe and started on the five cuts, each running from just below his shirt line straight down to just above his waist again.

He let out a hiss as she reached his stomach, causing her to let a few more tears run down her face. "Babe," he whispered as he wiped away the tears. She shook her head, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

Finally she was done with his chest. She patched up a few shallow scratches on his sides and deemed him good enough. She looked him in the eyes and asked, "How are your legs?"

"Fine," he said, pulling his shorts up as high as they would go to show his unscratched legs.

"How?" she asked.

"I never turn my back and run away." He stared deeply into her eyes and whispered, "I fight for what I love." He lowered his head and captured her lips with his. Closing her eyes she leaned into him slightly, wrapping her arms around him, but making sure not to hit his band-aids. The kiss was soft and sweet; the meaning he sent ringing true. Love.

"You should rest," she whispered when they finally came apart. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You should too," he said, running his pointer finger along her jaw line. "Come to the bed."

"The doctor," she protested weakly, hoping that Jasper would find a way to make him leave the problem.

"Do you want me to go and talk to him?" he whispered in her ear.

He took her silence as a yes and was out the window before she could protest. "Jasper," she hissed out the window. "I know you can hear me." She kept her voice low as she said, "You are all bloody. The doc will ask questions."

No reply came, causing her to use a few select words to hiss out the window at him. She turned around and jumped slightly when she heard the door-bell ringing. "Crap," she mumbled, grabbing the first aid kit and running it to the bathroom before going to stand at the top of the stairs to see who was at the front door.

"Hello Jasper," said the doctor as he opened the door to find Jasper dressed in a clean, long sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Hello sir," replied Jasper.

"Come in son," said the doctor, opening the door up for Jasper to walk into the front hall. "Pay," he yelled.

"Right here," said Payton walking slowly down the stairs.

"How bout we all go into the kitchen for a snack," offered the doctor, staring at the gauzy bandage on the right side of Jasper's face, but deciding not to say anything.

"That is a fine idea," said Jasper with a slight smile, followed by a look of pain crossing his face.

"Fight with a gang?" asked the doctor, finally giving into his curiosity as he grabbed out some cookies and three cans of pop.

"Something like that," replied Jasper as he opened the first can of pop and passed it over to Payton before opening his own.

"Did the gang do the damage here," started questioning the doctor, "or was it someone else?" he finished.

"We think it was someone else," said Jasper slowly. "Someone much more dangerous."

"The pack still running patrol?" questioned the doctor, already knowing about the pack's ability to change forms.

"Yeah." Jasper stared down at the table.

"Are you going in to work?" asked Payton, changing the subject.

"I think so," said the doctor. "And I'll pick the soup that some of the women made for you." He looked Payton in the eyes and said, "They are worried for you. They know that the house has been attacked again."

"Again?" squeaked Payton.

"Last year a gang from the town north of here came down and left some 'gifts' for the doctor," explained Jasper, placing air quotes around the word gifts. "They accused him of helping cure demons."

"I was worried they were back," said the doctor. "But it seems like someone else is after me this year." He gave a nervous chuckle and said, "I won't be back till tomorrow about eleven at night. Have to go up to Port Angeles to look at some cases. You going to be fine here?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Payton. "I'll be fine."

"And no going into the woods," warned the doctor as he got up from his chair. He picked up his two bags and with a final wave of his hand left Jasper and Payton sitting at the table in a house all to themselves.


	23. I Would Never Leave

Chapter 22:

I Would Never Leave

"Well this is nice," said Payton as she and Jasper stared at each other for a while.

Jasper closed his eyes slowly and said in a whisper, "Let's call it a night."

Payton nodded and stood up, taking Jasper's hand in hers. She walked up the stairs, pulling him behind her. She walked into her bedroom and led him to the bed, shoving him on it in a sitting position. She sat across his lap and kissed him. He placed his hands on either side of her face and rolled her, so he was above her.

"Payton," he whispered, kissing her jaw. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and caressed the gauze with love and tenderness. A fierceness he had never seen before raged in her eyes. "Pay," he warned, backing off slightly.

"We should sleep," she whispered, wiggling out from under him. "Let me get changed," she said once free from his arms. He just nodded, waiting for her to return.

When she returned from the bathroom, Payton was wearing a spaghetti strapped tank and a pair of pajama shorts. She looked at the bed and saw that Jasper was now shirtless, but under the covers and sleeping. She carefully slipped under next to him and rolled to look at him. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. He had dark circles under his eyes, but he managed to still smile at her. She smiled back and moved a little closer to him. He wrapped a strong arm around her and rolled her over, pulling her closer to him with her back against his chest. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling him do the same.

* * *

Jasper looked around the surrounding forest with fear in his eyes. He tried to call her name, but only a croaking moan escaped his mouth. He saw a movement through the trees and started running towards it. _'Shift! Shift!'_ he screamed at himself. He tried to, straining every muscle in his body, but he couldn't shift. "Fuck!" he screamed at the woods, slowing to a walk.

He scanned the woods again, doing a three-sixty. Another movement caught his eye and he turned and ran towards it.

He did this repeatedly until he was bone tired and gasping for air.

Suddenly he was in a clearing. He looked around and the clearing shifted to 'The Clearing.' His clearing. His father's clearing. His mother's clearing. He looked around again and saw Payton standing at the edge of the trees. He smiled at her, running towards her. He was almost there when a hand slipped around her, drawing a knife across her neck. Her eyes went blank as she dropped to the forest floor, blood flowing from her neck.

He stared at her and then looked up. There stood a gorgeous woman with jet black hair. She smiled a small smile and then slipped back into the woods.

Jasper threw his head back and screamed a long and heartbreaking "NOOOOO!!" He fell to the ground and clambered his way over to Payton, screaming out her name; knowing that she was already gone from his reach.

* * *

Jasper shot straight into a sitting position, his breath coming in labored breaths. He looked over and saw Payton laying beside him, hugging her pillow to herself. "Just a dream," he chanted to himself. "Just a dream." He looked back over to Payton and saw her sigh in her sleep, turning over and reaching out for him. He carefully lay back down and enfolded her in his arms. He ran a loving hand over her hair and brushed a stray strand out of her eyes. She turned her face slightly towards him, but continued to sleep on. He watched her, a worried expression caught on his face. He glanced at the clock. 3:27. He sighed and decided to try and get more sleep.

* * *

A light tapping on the window brought Jasper out of his light slumber. He carefully untangled himself from Payton, being careful not to wake her, and made his way to the window. He threw it open and ushered Aaron and Ian into the room. He held up a finger to his lips and led them from the room. Once in the hall a little ways down he asked in a hushed voice, "What's new?"

"Not much," said Aaron, looking Jasper over.

"What happened to you?" asked Ian, pointing to the numerous bloody bandages covering Jasper's body.

"Got into a little tussle."

"When?" asked Aaron, prodding the gauze on Jasper's chest. A little bit of bloody puss oozed out causing him to make a face.

"Yesterday. Early afternoon I would say."

"And you sill ain't healed?" asked Ian in a scared voice.

Jasper shook his head and walked into the bathroom. He carefully peeled off the bandage, staring at the five gashes in his chest. They were scabbed up and were starting to turn a light pink. "They are looking a lot better," he sighed.

"They still look like crap," said the soft voice of Payton from the doorway.

The three boys whipped around to stare at her and Ian let out a curse or two in the process. "Scared us a little," said Aaron, regaining his composer.

"Sorry," she whispered, staring at Jasper.

"What did you need?" he asked in a worried voice. He took a step towards her and ran a gentle hand down the side of her face, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

"The window was open and the draft woke me up," she said slowly, gauging the reaction on Jasper's face.

A shadow crossed over his face as he yelled at himself silently for not closing the window. "What time is it?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Five-thirty," said Ian glancing at his watch. "We'll tell Rog about your mishap and cover your shift for today." He looked Jasper straight in the eyes and said, "Getting healed up is your first priority. If something goes down we will want you with us."

"Yeah man," said Aaron. "Take the day off and relax a little. You look ready to snap." He slapped Jasper softly on the shoulder and led Ian out of the bathroom, down the hall, and to the front steps. There he yelled out, "And be nice to Pay. She looks ready to snap."

With that they walked out of the house leaving Payton and Jasper to themselves once more. "Bad dream?" she whispered, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder and let him run a soothing hand up and down her back.

"Maybe," he said softly.

"Bout what?" she questioned, leaning back a little to look at him more easily.

"Noth-" he started, but stopped when Payton shot a death glare at him. "It was about you," he started in a whisper, pulling her back to the bedroom.

"And," she prompted, not really liking where his tone was leaning towards.

"And you kept disappearing through the trees," he said in a shuddering voice. Payton began to rub soothing circles on his back, slightly above his bandage. "Then we were in the clearing I brought you to, but we were on opposite sides." He closed his eyes as the mental picture ran through his mind. "I ran to you, but just before I got to you…" he stuttered to a stop, not willing himself to go on.

"Jasper," she whispered in a pained voice.

"The 'thing'," he spat. "It cut your throat. It killed you right before my eyes and I couldn't even shift to protect you." He let out a shuddered breath and looked down at his clenched hands.

"The good thing is I am still here and I won't go," whispered Payton, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I would never leave." Jasper nodded and placed his lips on to top of her head thanking his good fortune for finding her.


	24. A Pack of Nine

**Hello everyone! I have decided to only update once a day, so look for new chapters sometime after 9 pm central time. Thanks for the reviews and for the question if the hybrids know what the gang did, I think I will go with coincidence.

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Chapter 23:

A Pack of Nine

By the time seven rolled around, Jasper was pacing frantically by the door. Payton placed a loving hand on his arm and said, "Let's go." Jasper nodded curtly and placed his hand on Payton's lower back, leading her outside to a waiting car. Payton got in and looked out to the woods. She saw a movement in the trees and soon three wolves were staring at her from the trees. She raised her hand in a small wave and watched as they bobbed their heads slightly. Jasper slammed the door, causing her to look at him, and tore off down the winding lane and into town.

When they reached the city limits, Jasper drove the car around to Ava's house and stopped before it. "I will be running guard today," he said in a soft voice. "I'll pick you up about eight and get you back home before the doctor get there.

Payton nodded, starting to get out of the car, but stopped. She turned around and kissed Jasper on lips saying, "For good luck and all." He nodded, smiling a little and waited for her to get out of the car. She shut the door and watched as he drove around the corner to park the car and shift.

Payton started up the walk and knocked on the door. It was flung open by an excited Ava who pulled her into the house without a single hello. She pulled Payton down the hall and into her bedroom where Susan and Layla were sitting. She shoved Payton down onto the bed and all three girls turned to her and screeched, "GUESSWHATHAPPENED??"

"What?" asked Payton, unclear on how this would turn out.

"They are!" said Layla in a dreamy voice.

"Who are?" asked Payton, looking to Susan for help.

"A.J. and Myles shifted last night. I guess Jas getting hurt pissed them off pretty badly," clarified Susan.

"And now we have officially both been imprinted on," sighed Ava. "It is wonderful."

"And to think A.J. likes me," whispered Layla. "He never even looked at me before."

"That's sweet," said Payton with a true smile on her face.

"Yeah," sighed Ava. "And we all get to miss school until this is all cleared up."

"Oh yeah," said Payton. "School."

They all laughed, flopping out on the bed to talk about their men.

* * *

"_Relax,"_ said Jasper to the twitching A.J. _"Just relax."_

"_I am,"_ snapped A.J.

"_Sure you are,"_ sneered Aaron. He gave a wolfy grin to his friend and stuck his nose back to the ground.

"_Sniff, sniff, sniff… sniff, sniff, sniff. Sniff the grou-hound. Sniff the grou-hound," _sang Myles to the tune of Shake your Bootie.

"_Myles,"_ warned Jasper. _"Concentrate."_

"_I am,"_ said Myles, basking in the glory of the wolf. He had been so scared that he wouldn't be part of the pack, but that all changed last night when the news of Jasper's near death came to him.

He looked over to Jasper and noted how he was moving slower than the others. _"I'm fine," _said Jasper, reading Myles train of thought.

"_Sure you are,"_ said A.J. twitching every now and then. _"When do we get to get these things?"_

"_Soon enough,"_ said Aaron. _"They headed north for a while."_

The pack looked over to Jasper who said, _"Let's run."_

With that the half-pack ran north through the woods, covering territory with ease. Suddenly they all stopped. They were in a small clearing. _"Backs together,"_ ordered Jasper. They complied, watching in horror as ten 'enemies' came out of the woods around them.

"_Fuck,"_ said Aaron.

"_A trap,"_ mumbled Myles.

A.J. didn't say anything. He just leapt at the closest enemy, tearing at its throat.

Jasper let out a battle howl and the rest of the pack leapt, blood flying everywhere.

* * *

Mary Lou ran across town, ignoring the looks she was getting and started banging on Luke and Ava's front door. Ava came to the door and with one look at Mary Lou and ushered her into the house. "What happened?" demanded Ava once the door was shut.

"The boys split up today. The older ones staying with Rog and the newer ones going with Jasper and Aaron to track. Rog wasn't paying too much attention to their location when they entered a meadow," said Mary Lou in one breath.

"What do you mean?" asked Susan, Payton and Layla standing slightly behind her.

"They were ambushed, and Roger didn't have their location. Once they attacked…"

"What are you saying?" whispered Payton, horror sinking into her voice.

"Contact was lost. Nothing was coming from any of the four."

"Who was all out there?" asked Layla in a quivering voice.

"Jasper, Aaron, Myles, and A.J.," reported Mary Lou sadly.

Payton turned around and ran to the back of the house, slipping out the back door. Once outside she ran a little ways into the trees, but still close enough to see the house. This couldn't be happening to her. She couldn't lose another person she loved. She dropped her head into her arms and let the tears flow.

She heard a snap of a twig behind her and turned around just to see a beautiful woman with jet black hair smiling at her. "I think I will take you like your lover boy," said the woman in a tinkling voice.

Payton screamed and scrambled away from the woman as a darting pain shot through her head and her world when black.


	25. 54893

**To my reviewers… THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! I love hearing what you think, so keep sending me your thoughts. –A.

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Chapter 24:

5-4-8-9-3

Ava slowly walked to the back door, still trying to process what Mary Lou had said. Gone? He couldn't be, she finally decided. Captured maybe, but not gone. Myles wouldn't leave her without a fight. A few tears silently streaked down her cheeks as she furiously wiped them away. She walked out the back door and called, "Payton?"

That was when she heard it.

The scream of terror.

"Shit," yelled Ava as she turned on her heel and grabbed the shotgun on the rack by the door. To the others she yelled, "Get the boys. Payton."

With that she sprinted outside once more, loading and cocking the gun as she went.

She made it to the edge of the forest, and that was when she saw them. They were gorgeous, but hideous at the same time. Their beautiful features marred by grimaces, and they had her friend. She lifted the gun to her shoulder and sighted it in. She pulled the trigger and with a resounding crack, she nailed the one holding Payton in the center of the head.

It dropped to the ground, unmoving, but Ava didn't trust that it was dead. She sighted in again and fired, hitting another in the head also. The other three got the hint and took off into the woods before Ava could reload.

She still stuck in two more bullets and walked carefully up to the things. She scurried in quickly, grabbing Payton's shirt and pulling her dead weight out of the trees a little bit. She turned back to the enemies and saw five wolves emerge from the trees. The lead one nodded at her and she nodded back, turning to Payton.

Susan and Layla were already there, lifting Payton's weight between them and carrying her into the house.

* * *

Jasper woke up only to find himself in a dark cave and in human form. A throbbing pain came from the side of his face and he lifted his hand up, only to find he couldn't move his right arm. He moved his head and saw that it was at a weird angle. He cursed at himself and looked around trying to find the rest of his team.

Aaron was sprawled out, bloody and battered, but seemingly in one piece. Jasper looked to the other side and saw A.J. and Myles in the same condition. All of their appendages seemed to be in normal positions, so he wasn't too worried about broken bones on them.

He shoved himself up into a sitting position, using his left arm, and panted heavily. He body seemed to be drained of all energy, and he worried how long they had been out. The girls had to be worried about them, and that made him sick. They shouldn't have to worry, because they should have been there. He used up the last of his strength to scoot over to Aaron and then slumped to the ground.

"Aaron," he whispered hoarsely.

"Mmmh," moaned Aaron, moving his head from side to side.

"Wake up Aaron," urged Jasper, poking his friend with his left hand fingers.

Aaron moaned again, but opened up his eyes slightly. "Where are we," he said in a scratchy voice.

"A cave as far as I can tell." Jasper thought a moment and said, "And alone too."

"That's good," said Aaron, pushing himself up. "When did we shift back over?" he asked, taking in their appearances.

"I don't know, but let's see if we can get out of here."

Aaron nodded and shoved himself up. He then scooted over to the other two and shook them angrily. "Get up NOW!" he hissed through clenched teeth. The two groaned and slowly opened their eyes. "And shift too," Aaron ordered before shifting himself.

Aaron looked over and saw Jasper shifted too. _"Let's roll,"_ said Jasper, hobble walking over to A.J. and Myles. They nodded, noting the pain running through their leader's mind, but didn't question his motives. They all wanted to get out and fast.

* * *

Roger looked over at the other four wolves and said, "Keep them alive. We might be able to find some information out about them." They nodded and shifted into human form; two members to each enemy. They walked them to an abandoned barn, figuring the enemy already knew where the town was, and waited for them to wake up.

* * *

The four boys finally made their way out of the caves; and after only a few wrong turns. When they reached sunlight, Aaron took the lead, pointing them in a straight bee-line for the town and their girls.

* * *

The three beautiful creatures ran with all of their might, cutting around the trees, hoping to confuse any trackers that might be following them. "We need to get back to our projects," smiled one of the creatures.

"Yes," replied the others in unison, their sweet voices sounding oddly mechanical.

The first smiled and ran ever the faster towards the caves. When they entered, she let out a torturing scream at the sight of the empty caves.

* * *

"Looks like they found us gone," said A.J.

"Faster," yelled Jasper, risking the pain for running on his broken arm.

"Go…go…go!" urged Aaron, weaving every now and then to avoid the trees and branches that popped out ever few hundred steps.

The four wolves raced through the trees, bursting out of the woods and into Ava's back yard still in wolf form. They shifted as one and burst through the back door naked, much to the shock of the three girls who were conscious.

* * *

"It's waking up," said Matt, turning to the other four pack members, all of them in human form.

Roger rushed over and lifted the creature up, slamming it into a wall and yelled, "What the hell do you want?"

"Five, four, eight, nine, three," said the creature in a monotone voice.

"What?" shouted Ian, rushing towards the creature.

"That is what she said," sobbed the creature, shaking with fear.

"What are you?" asked Luke in a soothing voice, realizing that the thing was female and was scared out of its skin.

"I am Petra," said the creature. "I am a ser humano do vampiro," it whispered.

"How?" asked Ian, understanding what she said.

"What did she say?" demanded Matt, totally confused.

"She spoke Portuguese. She said she was vampire human."

"And we want five, four, eight, nine, three."

"What do the numbers mean?" asked Luke, staring the female in the eyes with a feverish look.

"I don't know," she whispered, hanging her head.

"Kill her?" asked Matt, turning to Roger.

Roger looked at Luke and then turned to Matt saying, "Not quite yet. She might remember something."


	26. Ummm?

Chapter 25:

Ummm?

"_Kill her?" asked Matt, turning to Roger._

_Roger looked at Luke and then turned to Matt saying, "Not quite yet. She might remember something."_

He gave a meaningful look to Matt and Ian, which sent them scuttling out the barn doors and back to the Ava's house. Roger looked at Luke and then to Petra. "Be careful Luke," he whispered as he turned to walk out the door.

"I always am," said Luke in a small voice as he watched his leader walk away. He turned back to Petra and saw her huddling in a corner. "Can you tell me about yourself?" asked Luke in a soft voice, crouching in front of her.

"What will happen to me?" she whispered.

"I don't know," said Luke with a sad look on his face.

"What about Benny?" she asked looking at the still sleeping and barley alive figure on the table across the room.

"That is up to Roger to decide." She nodded her head and then laid it on her knees.

He sat down beside her and placed his hand gently on her head, brushing back the hair from her eyes. Very softly she whispered, "The stories go that I was born from two vampires. The only thing is that, that is impossible. But here we are, half human but half vampire.

"When I was little, I was sent to live in the forests with others like me. There were ten in my village. We aged until we turned twenty. From then on we are forever young. Last year on my sixteenth birthday, I was taken away during the night by a woman. She said that she would take care of me. She brought me here and kept me and four others in a cave. She didn't feed us much, and we started to function differentially. The others became almost brainwashed, doing anything and everything she wanted us to do.

"Our first mission was to break into a building and put all this blood around. It made me sick to my stomach, but the others, they liked it. Then she had us do the same, but this time to some trees.

"We were always moving about, making trails and all is what she called it. Then yesterday she brought in five more. They were more like her. They were here to help with an ambush. We led four shifters into a meadow and attacked. We got them and brought them back to the cave. Then the new ones left and we headed here to get some more bait. That's when we saw the girl and tried to take her. Then Benny got shot and then me." She let her story die out, never reaching a finish. She looked up at Luke and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it."

Luke nodded and stood up. He walked to the door and then stopped asking, "What kills you?"

"Fire," she said. "You can shoot us, even in the head or the heart, and we will find a way to repair the damage. But fire is total destruction."

"Thanks," he said, walking out of the barn. He saw Ian in wolf form and nodded to him. Ian walked through the door and sat down to watch the prisoners.

* * *

_The four wolves raced through the trees, bursting out of the woods and into Ava's back yard still in wolf form. They shifted as one and burst through the back door naked, much to the shock of the three girls who were conscious._

"What the fuck?" screeched Ava as four very naked boys rushed through her back door.

"Where is Roger?" demanded Jasper as he stared down at Ava.

"Barn," whispered Susan in awe, trying to keep her eyes on their faces.

"Could you put some pants on?" yelled Ava, still mad at them for walking around in the buff.

All four boys looked down and turned red as one. "Sorry," they mumbled, trying to cover themselves.

"Wait there," said Ava, walking to the back of the house. She grabbed four pairs of athletic shorts and walked back to the boys. "Here," she said, throwing them at their waiting hands.

They quickly slipped them on and looked around shyly. As Jasper was about to speak, the back door came open reveling Roger and Matt. Roger let out a sigh of relief and said, "You got away." He extended his hand to Jasper to shake in congratulations.

"Yeah," said Jasper, sticking out his right hand, but then withdrawing it when he saw it was still at a weird angle.

"Broken?" asked Matt, who was tempted to poke it.

"Think so," said Aaron looking at it. "Want me to hit it back in?" He glanced up at Jasper and at his nod quickly grabbed above the break and his hand and pulled. Jasper hissed a few curse words out as a small pop echoed through the house.

"Take it easy," said Roger. "And we have something in the barn that might interest you."

"You caught some?" said A.J. with delight on his face.

"Yes we did," said Matt, "but Luke took a liking to one of them."

"Frick," said Ava, trying to shove past the boys, but failing once Myles got a hold of her.

"Let him be," he whispered. "He deserves a mate as much as anyone else."

"Fine," huffed Ava. She then looked up at him and burst into tears.

"Shh," he murmured, pulling her away to the slightly shocked group and into her bedroom. "All is fine now."

"I thought you were dead," she whispered in fear. "I can't stand loosing you."

"And I can't stand seeing you cry," he whispered, wiping away her rolling tears. "I think all this will be finished soon enough, and then we can be happy together." He kissed her gently on the lips and rested his cheek in her hair.

Back with the group, A.J. and Layla embraced along with Susan and Aaron. Jasper sniffed the air slightly and followed Payton's scent into the living room. There on the couch, was her still body. He walked over to her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. He bent down and kissed her lips, smiling when she kissed back.

"Jasper?" she whispered, not opening her eyes.

"If you were kissing A.J., I would have to have a talk with him," he smiled. He leaned over and kissed her again, before moving her slightly so he could lay behind her. "They caught two of them," he whispered. "And we'll be in a battle soon enough. We escaped from them and they aren't happy," he said, filling her in. She sighed in understanding and snuggled in closer to his chest. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and prayed that all would be well and no one would be hurt. His last thought before slipping into the peace of darkness was how lucky he was to have found the girl he was laying next to.


End file.
